Struggle

I struggle with a great many things when it comes to following Christ. I struggle with my ability to obey, my competence to do God’s will, and my sin. This morning it is my sin. Not a specific sin, just the abundance of sin in my life. The little nagging failures to demonstrate God to others.

Romans 3:10, “As it is written, “Not even one person is righteous.”

Odd things wake me in the middle of the night. Why is it that I struggle with the same things over and over? It started me wondering about the characters in the Bible of their daily struggles. God doesn’t tell us much about that. We know that Moses was a murderer and David dealt with lust, but we don’t know about their daily struggles.

1 John 1:8, “If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and we’re not being truthful to ourselves.”

SIN IS NOT PROGRESSIVE

James 2:10, “And the person who keeps every law of God but makes one little slip is just as guilty as the person who has broken every law there is.”

The place I gravitate to is that sin is not progressive; it doesn’t get better or worse; it just is or isn’t. There is no sliding scale. God doesn’t try to provide a standard other than Himself. We all fall short. Did Solomon write Proverbs because he was constantly irritated at the folly of those around him? Did he feel superior to them at times? Were Proverbs his passive-aggressive vent? Did Moses struggle with the leadership responsibilities and the Israelites’ constant whining? Was He short-tempered and impatient? David loved his son, but did his son also cause him grief? Was he impatient with his demands? It is easy to read between the lines that Paul was not an easy guy to get along with. He saw life as black and white. Although God gave him the gift of compassion, I don’t think he received the gift of patience.

Romans 7:19-20, “When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. Now, if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.”

I have no reason to believe that the characters in the Bible didn’t struggle the same as us. So why didn’t God provide us with these examples so that we could feel better about our struggles? I would guess it is because we should never stop struggling; we shouldn’t feel better. There is only one standard, and we all fall short.

SALVATION IS NOT WHITEWASH

When we accept Christ as our savior, do we see it as our get-out-of-jail-free card? The analogy that came to my head was citizenship. Some people study hard for citizenship so they can pass the test. But, once they pass the test and take the oath, do they see citizenship the same way? Do they treasure it, or do they start to feel entitled? Once salvation is ours, does it become a right? Our sins are forgiven yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We are made white as snow. Should that not give us a level of comfort?

My guess is no, it should not. On the contrary, I believe it makes us struggle more because we now know that our sin is unacceptable to God. We now know that things normalized in the world are unacceptable to God. This is a good thing.  Even with our salvation, we will stand before the Judgement Throne of Christ to account for how we lived our lives once we accepted Christ as our savior. God will want an accounting for the rants on social media, our discussion concerning politics, and our impatience with others who think differently than ourselves. This is about something other than being right; it is about doing right.

Lamentations 3:22, “his compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction.”

REDEMPTION IS REAL

I would suspect that the day you stop struggling with sin is that day you need to start worrying. Sin is always with us; it never takes a holiday. No matter how hard we try, there will be something. That nagging sin is a constant reminder that we need Christ. It is a portal to God’s love, compassion, and understanding of our condition. So, as we fight sin, we cling to Christ.

Romans 8:1, “So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

I want comfort and to know it is all right, but it isn’t. That is good news. The more I struggle with my shortcomings, the more I talk to God. The more I am disgusted with my behavior, the more I demonstrate that I care. The only standard is God Himself, and we will not achieve that this side of Heaven. To struggle is to gain.

I remember that the God of the universe that has forgiven all my sins is the same God that reminds me of His love through the ultimate sacrifice of His son. A God that would do that for a man as undeserving as myself is a God of infinite compassion.

Isaiah 30:18, “Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love; he will conquer you to bless you, just as he said, for the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.”