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Our sins have come between us and God.
It's like we are floating through space, and we are cut off from our life supply.
So you might ask, "Well, why can't God just make all that sin go away so He can hook us back up again?"
Because it's not that simple. Here's why...
Sin ALWAYS hurts someone.
It may not seem so terrible to tell a little lie, or say something mean to someone, but every time we do, someone gets hurt. Sometimes it hurts right away, sometimes not for a long time after. Sometimes it hurts you. But most of the time it hurts somebody else.
That's why sin - even a little sin - is a terrible thing.
Someone ALWAYS gets hurt.
And when someone gets hurt, a price has to be paid to make it right.
Why?
Well, suppose one day your brother just up and smacks you a good one. And then your dad says to him, “Oh, that’s okay, we'll just forget about it - just don’t do it again... oh, and if you do, well, that’s okay too.”
What??!! Wait!!! That's not right!
Just forget about it?! Like it never happened??!! No! That's not fair! He has to be punished! He should have to go to his room, or not get any dinner, or something! You can't just let him get away with it! It has to cost him something to make things right!
And you are right!
Your brother hurt you! It's not right if he doesn't pay a price for the wrong he did. The Bible calls it atonement.
And that's how it is with God. Every time we sin, someone gets hurt. It may not always seem like it at the time, but someone always does. So God can't just say, “Oh, that’s okay - just don’t do it again... oh, and if you do, well, that’s okay too.”
That wouldn't be right!
Someone has to pay the price to make things right.
And that’s the problem for us.
God can't pretend our sins never happened. That wouldn't be right, and God could never do what isn't right. That's just not who God is! God is perfect in every way, and that means God always does what is right.
To make things right we have to pay a price for our sins.
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