![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Ecclesiastes_3_15.jpg)
| “Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 3:15 |
In every situation in life, there comes a time when we must give an account of what we’ve done. We may do something over and over for a long time. But, eventually, if that “something” has caused harm to someone or is constituted of a substance that is morally or spiritually wrong, then the price of doing that “something” will sooner or later come due.
You no doubt know the story of the Pied Piper. The city was overwhelmed by rats. The leaders were beside themselves. No matter what they did, they couldn’t get rid of the rats. A piper came along who offered to rid the city of the rats for a specific price. The leaders readily agreed to pay that price. The piper proceeded to pipe his magical and enticing tune. And, sure enough, the rats gathered behind him. He marched them to the water’s edge, where they entered the water and promptly drowned.
Now, if the story ended there it would be a wonderful tale of triumph over evil. But, the leaders refused to pay the piper. And so, the piper began to pipe an even more magical melody.
Soon, all the children of the city gathered behind the piper. He led them to the water’s edge where they, too, entered the water and promptly drowned.
“How horrible!” you may say. “How awful! What a despicable man that piper was!” But, you have misplaced your disgust. You should direct your horror at the leaders of the city who failed to pay the piper after agreeing to his price.
Life’s like that parable. Sin has a price attached to it. We may enjoy the pleasure of that sin for a season. But, eventually, we will have to pay the price for that sin.
In this life on earth, we often have to pay the temporal price for sin. In other words, the harm that sin causes others and ourselves extracts a price in the here and now. Fortunately, the ultimate eternal price for our sins has already been paid by Jesus’ death on the cross, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension to heaven.
We sometimes think that no matter what we have done we have gotten away with it. But, sin always extracts a price. We should bow to the ground in thankfulness that the only price we have to pay is the temporal one. Because of Jesus, the eternal price for our sin has been paid.
King Solomon wrote of this reality, as recorded in Ecclesiastes 3:15:
Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
One of the reasons that the Holy Spirit leads those of us who believe toward holiness is so that, by becoming what God wants us to be, we will avoid sinning as much as possible. We remain stained by the sin curse of Adam until we pass from this life to the next. So, we will always have the pull of sin on our lives.
But, the more we yield our lives to God, the less we will desire to sin. It’s a long process, what the author Eugene H. Peterson has called “a long obedience in the same direction.” But, it is a road worth traveling.
As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is our guide and our companion. He will help us learn about holiness. And that, dear ones, is what the walk of sanctification is all about.
