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Small things, seemingly innocent matters, almost insignificant events can turn on a dime. What might begin as a simple thought or desire sometimes becomes an unmitigated disaster. Most of us have some of those stories.

My father-in-law, occasionally describes the time he followed a big machine, one he had not seen before, into a farm field, only to discover, a bit too late, that he was walking behind a manure spreader.

I remember playing with some gasoline in the garage as a young teenager. I was trying to clean oil spots off the garage floor using gasoline. And then I thought it would be cool to see if I could burn them off… and then… What started as a desire to do something good, a seemingly innocent inquisitiveness ended with a trip to the hospital and a lot of pain. Over time the scars have faded, but fortunately the lesson hasn’t.

Some might call my youthfulness “a series of unfortunate events,” things that happened because I didn’t sufficiently regard the significance of boundaries. Some were innocent enough but other were terribly costly and most could have been easily avoided.

Now a days, I set my boundaries quite a ways back from the danger zone.

Scripture warns us in the letter from James, the brother Jesus: “each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

It’s a process – a thought conceived, a temptation entertained, a desire nurtured, the enticement appears, sin ensues, and eventually death comes, a relationship is broken, a job is lost, a dream dies…

For some of us, the damage is done and we are left to pick up the pieces. For others, it’s not too late to pull back. Irrespective of that reality, for all of us, there is a future and a hope. We don’t have to wash rinse repeat. We can break the cycle. We can set limits. We need to set limits. We need to draw that line far back from the danger zone.

And when we fail, we have a Heavenly Father who stands ready to forgive, to receive, to guide us into a better way, to provide a shield for us… This God is amazing. This is the God we proclaim. The One who redeems us, changes us, and protects us. This story is about Him. What He has done in my life and what He will do in yours, if you are ready to let go and fall into His arms.

Glen Hallead, A Redeemed Sinner.