And I
know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want
to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is
good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do
what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Romans 7:18-19 (NLT)
This Scripture is Paul’s
woeful description of the power sin holds
over a person. The application for the
life of a believer/follower of Jesus Christ is pretty clear:
If you say “yes”
long enough to sin and
selfishness, there comes a time when you
will NOT BE ABLE
to say “yes” to God.
When Elizabeth and I first
moved to our current home, 15 years ago, I discovered some wild grapevines in the
back yard. They were wrapped around a
very large pine tree; well, it used to be a pine tree - now it’s
a pile of decomposing termite food…dead!
The ancient tree in my back
yard was immense; it was about 36” in diameter; the vine was about 4” in
diameter. How could something so small
take down something so large? Well, you
do recall David and Goliath, don’t you?
For every giant there is a little slingshot!
Now, those vines would have
been easy to pull out by the root a few years prior, but by the time I saw them
they were so embedded in the tree stem, it was impossible.
Those grapevines are a vivid
metaphor of sin in a Christian’s life.
When sin, particularly
selfishness, is entertained within, at first it will be much like a young
grapevine, no bigger than a hair. You
can train it, use it to decorate your life and pretty much control it. You’re still in the driver’s seat (or so you
think!).
But the Scriptures also
inform us that sin’s pleasures are but for a season. (Hebrews 11:25) Sooner or later the unintended harvest of
this kind of vine becomes a force in you that you won't be able
to defeat!
If you indulge selfishness
long enough you cultivate a crop of loneliness and spiritual blindness that
will strangle any possibilities of generosity and kindness. The vine of sin grows stronger; you,
the real you, the one created in the image of God, the “you” of generosity and
vitality – you shrivel and die.
As Paul lamented, you can get
to the place where you want to do right, but cannot.
Like my back yard grapevine,
the process is insidious, growing and wrapping itself around every part of your
life, until the host is replaced by the vine alone. There is little left of the original “you” –
just a pile of spiritual sawdust!
Now
all that sounds pretty dismal; it seems like you’re doomed if you slip-up. Paul’s statements sound ominous and
final.
But
he doesn’t leave us dangling like the hangman; listen to the end of Paul’s
chapter:
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is
dominated by sin and death? Thank
God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Romans 7:24-25 (NLT)
Followers
of Jesus have blessed hope to proclaim – Christ is stronger than our sin.
For You Today
Here’s
a great practice for any believer – check the base of your life’s tree every
day for seeds of rebellion and selfishness.
Pull
‘em out while they’re small!
No comments:
Post a Comment