"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7
I realized that when I struggle with sin, I have generally two incorrect outlooks.
First, when I am indulging myself in my sinful desires, both during and after, I feel strong guilt and shame and I feel unable to go to God for forgiveness because I tell myself I'm not worthy. Which is stupid. I'm never worthy. That's the beauty of grace. Christ became sin for our sakes, so that through His sacrifice we could be redeemed and cleansed of ALL of our sins, past, present, and future (2 Cor. 5:21).
Second, when I feel as I'm doing well resisting temptation (with God's help, since I can do nothing apart from Him giving me life), I act as if I'll never sin again. SO, I get on my righteous high horse and begin to put all the accomplishments on my own ability.
I don't know if anyone else is like this, but I find myself in one of those two states more often than not. If you're like me, then be in prayer that God can remind you of how weak you are in your own power against sin, but also that He redeems us and gives us strength to overcome sin. When you do mess up (which you WILL) pray that He reminds you of His love and grace that is stronger than any guilt or shame the Devil can place on you.
Who am I but a man bound to sin?
When I fall I am ashamed of my stupidity
yet when I am lifted up, I expect to never fall again.
The only thing I can hope for is to be reminded of my weakness and Your grace
Only then will I be consumed entirely by the fire my soul longs for.
Only then will I be free to dissolve into you.
No comments:
Post a Comment