Letters to My Sisters, part 2 of 4

Dear Tara and Nora:

I hope you're having a good week; I have sure been praying that you would. Did you get my first letter? Have you been thinking about how much God loves you? It's true--He does love you, yet like every great truth, there is a "but."

Scripture: Isaiah 59:2, "BUT" your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.

Story: Imagine that you are invited to play a concert with the greatest symphony orchestra in the world. Violins, cellos, flutes, clarinets a host of other instruments from all over the world will perform in perfect harmony to create a majestic sound such as has never been heard before. Imagine that you are scheduled to play first french horn but a strong case of bronchitis has you winded and weak. You know you can't play your part perfectly but you don't want to miss the concert, so you keep the sickness quiet and take your seat as the final warm-up begins. From almost the first note you see from the corner of your eye that the conductor knows something is wrong. He asks for the person out of tune to identify himself but you are too afraid. The curtain will go up and the concert will begin so the conductor begins to walk up and down the rows looking frantically for the offensive instrument. As he enters your row, you try to play your best but realize you will not be able to hide your problem from the famous conductor. As he approaches your chair, a chill runs down your spine as your eyes meet his and you know that he knows. "OUT!!" he shouts; you cannot play. No matter how good you have played in the past, no matter how much the conductor may respect your abilities and appreciate you personally, he has no choice but to cast you out.

Sin will not be part of heaven. Nothing will be allowed to destroy the harmony that God has planned for us to enjoy there. Before each of us dies we must deal with our sin according to God's plan or we will be cast from his presences for all eternity. Yes, God does love us, but we will never experience that love until our 'sin problem' is dealt with. Romans 3:23, 6:23, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death.

It's hard for me to think of you as having a sin problem. I have known and loved you since you were just a little girl. I remember playing Cookie Monster with you and your sister on the couch. I remember coaxing you to go to bed, and staying with you till your breathing deepened as your dreams began. I know you've had your struggles but I see the circumstances that have made things so hard for you. I think you have played the cards you've been dealt in some pretty amazing ways. In my eyes you are no "sinner"--you are a wonderful young woman trying to do something good with her life.

Sorry to say though, I don't get a vote on who goes to heaven and who doesn't. In the end it won't matter much what I think of you. In God's eyes, you are a sinner; we both are, everyone is, and NO amount of human goodness will ever change that fact. Deep inside, I'm sure you know that you have not kept God's laws perfectly, that you have areas of sin in your life that you cannot erase.

James 2:10, For whoever shall keep the whole law, yet shall stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Tara/Nora, there are many things that I can learn from you; I hope you will learn this from me. There is only one true God, there is only one heaven, there is only one way to get there, and there is only one lifetime to figure it out. The longer you wait to deal with your sin problem, the less likely that you ever will. Next week when I write to you, I will try to explain from the Bible exactly how to deal with this problem of sin. Of course no one can get help for a problem they don't believe they have, so I want to leave you a few questions to think about:

** Can you admit to yourself that you have done things that break God's law?
** Do you ever feel guilt about those things?
** Do you think that being a good person can ever erase the wrong you've done?
** What plan do you have to remove the sin that separates you from God?

Hebrews 9:27, It is appointed unto man once to die and after this comes judgment.

We love you and your sister very much and have written her the same letter. Maybe you could both talk about it. Kathy and I will be praying that God will continue to grow within you a desire to know Him and experience all the joy and goodness that He longs to bring into your life. Feel free to call if you want to talk.

Much love to you,

James