Feeling bad never felt so good.

Two guys are living in a pig pen. They have lived in the pig pen their entire lives and as far as they know all of life revolves around their pig pen. Neither one of the guys have any idea that it is possible to live outside of the pig pen. Both men were born in the pig pen and both assume they will one day die in the pig pen. The pig pen is life and they are both okay with their lives.

But then one day, a mini-van drives by the pig pen and pulls over. A family steps out and approaches the pig pen to find one of the men sleeping and the other staring at them in amazement. The family invites the man who is awake to climb into their van and experience life as they know it. The man climbs into the van and goes back to the family's house where he is allowed to shower, given a few hot meals, and a warm bed to sleep in. After he spends some time with the family, the man is taken back to the pig pen and told he is welcome back at the house anytime.

But now there is a glaring difference between the two men in the pig pen. Both were born in the pig pen, but now one of them knows that there is life--and that life is better than pig pen life--outside of the pig pen. The mud and dirt no longer feel comfortable in light of the shower and clean clothes. He no longer desires to eat the scraps because they do not taste as good as the hot meals he had at the family's house. It is hard for him to sleep on the ground now that he has experienced a bed.

The two men have identical histories and they both find themselves in the pig pen, but they have one glaring difference--one is convinced that life is better outside of the pig pen. He won't stay in the pig pen much longer. The other man, however, because he has never enjoyed life outside of the pig pen will sit in the mud, eat the scraps, and sleep on the floor completely content with his life.

The story is an obvious analogy for the difference between the Christ-Follower and the lost man. Both were born into the pig pen of sin and lived completely content with the mud and scraps that filled their "life."

But then something happened. The Christ-Follower met Jesus Christ and experienced the cleansing of sanctification, the embrace of Jesus' love, and the purpose filled kingdom life.

The believer, because he is still a sinner, is prone to returning to the pig pen of sin from time to time and the lost man never leaves. But the difference between them is that the Christ-Follower is no longer comfortable in the pig pen. There is the nagging gnawing Holy Spirit induced realization that the mud of sin, which at one time seemed comfortable and normal, cannot compare to the warmth of relationship with Jesus.

The Christ-Follower cannot be content in the pig pen and contentment eludes them because of a gift the Father has given them called "conviction."

Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer to make them feel a guilt over their sin that leads them to repentance (for a definition of repentance see an earlier post).

Listen to God call out to Israel and Judah in conviction in Jeremiah 25:4-6

You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, "Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and to your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

You might say, "Hold on that doesn't sound like conviction. It sounds like a warning." But often times that is the form that conviction takes.

The point is that God has every right to punish sin. He is the completely righteous and just judge of humanity.

But with His people, God offers the gift of a warning. He offers the gift of guilt that leads to repentance. He offers the opportunity to turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds (life in the pig pen) and dwell in the land that the Lord has give to you (the warm house). He reminds us that going after other gods to serve and worship them (sin) will provoke Him to anger and do us harm.

Let me make this personal.

When you sin do you feel conviction? Do you hear the Holy Spirit of God warning you? Are you reminded of God's propensity to both forgive and to punish? Are you reminded of how much better life is in the warm house (joyful obedience) then the pig pen (your current sinfulness)?

What a gift it is to be the second man who is no longer content with the pig pen! We are surrounded by people and immersed in a culture that is intoxicated with the mud and filth of sin, but God in His graciousness has allowed us to experience life in His kingdom.

And when we, in our stupidity and sinfulness, return back to the pig pen He does not let us go.

He gives us the gift of conviction. He beckons us back.