In receiving the abundant grace and mercy of Jesus,
we may be tempted to believe there is no accountability for our actions or
personal responsibility for our choices; however, Scripture in both Old and New
Testaments is clear that our choices have consequences (see Deut 30:11-20;
Proverbs 11:18, 22:8; 2 Cor 9:6, Gal 6:7-8, James 3:18). It is built into the fabric of creation, and
is even expressed as a law of physics, that actions produce reactions. The reason God created such a system was out
of love for us. Imagine for a moment
what our lives would be like if our actions produced no predictable
results. How could we ever learn what is
beneficial (blessings of Deuteronomy) and what is harmful (curses)? Without resulting consequences, we would be
repeating the same harmful actions over and over again, but never
learning. We would also be living in a
world ruled by chaos, without order and without understanding or wisdom.
I have heard two excellent illustrations of this
truth. The first was from Charles
Stanley, who said, “if I throw a baseball at a window, and the moment the ball
releases from my hand I ask Jesus to forgive me, He will forgive me; but the
ball will still hit the window, the glass will still break, and I will still
need to clean up the broken glass and replace the window.” In other words, asking forgiveness from Jesus
does not remove the responsibility for making amends for our actions. As was the case with Zacchaeus (Luke
10:1-10), Jesus asks us to restore what has been stolen, even as our sin is
forgiven. The other illustration was
from John Eldredge, who throwing down a tennis ball said “choice” and as the
ball bounced back up to his hand, he said “consequence.” He was making the point that each choice we
make has a predictable result, and that this pattern of action-reaction had
been established by God. What would it
be like if we threw down a ball, and had no idea where it would wind up based
on our throw?
So it was love that determined choice and
consequence, which gave us responsibility and in so doing produced real
freedom. Accountability, then, is part
of love, and removing responsibility or consequences for choices ultimately
removes freedom. This truth is
applicable in all of our relationships – from our partnership with Jesus to our
marital relationships to our parenting to our friendships. Remember, as Stanley eloquently illustrated,
Jesus will forgive our sins but will not remove responsibility for the consequences
of our choices. In so doing, He shows
His love for us in a deeper, and far more respectful, manner. We need to do the same in our relationships
with others.
