Thursday, July 4, 2019

Trapped


Thursday, July 4, 2019

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  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.  So you see how it is:  In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.  Romans 7:21-25

A man is trying desperately to overcome his extreme fondness/addiction to doughnuts, and other delightful pastries.  Having ordered every pill antidote ever offered on the Internet and late-night TV commercials, tried all the fad diets, hypnosis, psychotherapy, and playing the mental tapes of his mother shaking her judge-like index finger in his face, the man resorts (finally) to prayer.  He whispers this prayer moments before leaving for work:  Lord, if it’s ok for me to get a half-dozen pastries on the way to work today, let there be a parking space right in front of the bakery this morning.  He wasn’t sure it was going to work, but as he circled the block for the eighth time, sure enough there was a space open!
The typical reaction of a human being discovering he is trapped is to begin the frantic search for a way out!  It is like the knee-jerking jump when you’ve walked barefoot into the hot coals of a fire…you want out!  And it is no different in the emotional arena…the minute you sense being bullied, smothered by somebody’s too powerful personality, or caught in a dead-end job or lifestyle; you’re looking around for an exit door.
As with most conditions that exist in the physical and emotional realms, our spiritual side has its corresponding reality.  Paul discovered a life-principle that he really was a slave, trapped like a rat in a maze, unable to free himself from the sinful ways his human nature craved.  Even when he wanted to, resolved to, wouldn’t settle for anything less than being better…it was impossible; he did the bad stuff anyway!  He described it as something that was common in Paul’s day, being a prisoner, walking around chained to a dead, rotting body.  When the Roman government punished convicted wrong doers, they would be sentenced to life with a corpse, strapped to their backs.  It was a reminder that their lives were not their own; they were at the mercy of a greater power – Rome.  Paul said it’s like that, carrying the live virus of sin around with you, being a slave to your sin nature.  The Apostle James described what that virus does:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions.  And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.  James 1:14-15

Now, that guy who couldn’t stay out of the bakery…that’s not just a joke you’ve heard 20 times over the past year…that guy is me!  And he’s you, too.  In some way that joke is funny because it connects with who we are…people descended from Adam and Eve, trapped in the human condition of being slaves to our desires.  And when we finally get to the place where we understand there is no release, that the corpse of our sin debt will follow us to the grave, there are only two ways out:
1.     There is self-justification.  We rationalize with our prayers and intelligent post church theories how we’re ok because we were born that way, and who is anybody to judge me, anyway.  Leave me alone, I’m just going to circle the bakery eight-times, until I feel better about myself.
2.     There is justification that God offers, as he takes our place, hanging on a cross for what sin has done to us.  And His death sets us free!
For You Today
If you’ve circled the bakery enough, and you’re beginning to feel the weight of being trapped…rejoice…you’re not far from the Kingdom.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
Go to VIDEO

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com     Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©


No comments:

Post a Comment