"What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer? In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
(The Apostle Paul in Romans 6:1-3, 11)
The Christian life is not an easy life. We know that God has called us to a higher standard. Try as we might to live up to that standard, we fall short. Sin creeps into our lives, infiltrates our thoughts and affects our actions. People question our faith or end up giving us that dreaded label, "hypocrite."
What is the balance? Why can't we live a sin-free life in Christ? How do we sin less and honor God more? I'd love to hear your thoughts as you've struggled with this in your Christian life.
2 comments:
Uggh..this is one of the toughest questions for me. Many times I feel like the apostle Paul..." I do what I do not want to do..etc."
I really think for me, the reason why I am not totally sin free is because I have not yet put my fleshly desires to death.
I believe Jesus said that we cannot love the both the world and God ( a divided heart)...we must either love God and 'hate' the world, or vice versa...paraphrasing here.
I see myself having one foot on planet earth and one foot reaching towards heaven. I know that there are some things on Earth that really are a waste of time and a detriment to my relationship with Christ. However, I get sucked into material and wordly things...It doesn't necesarily take a 'bad' or 'evil' thing to pull a person away from God. For me, I have a lot of hobbies and goals that take time away from reading the Bible and praying, thus not being in touch with the Holy Spirt and losing guidance from it.
I really think it's a lack of care for my relationship with God. I use Him when I need something, then He's put on the shelf...kinda like a genie in a lamp.
I believe that if we honor God with our whole heart (rather than divided), He will honor that and make his Holy spirit more known to us and be able to guide us.
Well said Neil. It is tough. I struggle with what I want! Then I struggle with getting my kids things or doing for them. Better I suppose, but still not what God has commanded us to do.
Here is a post of the little girl with and her pearl bracelet which you have probably read already but I think it pretty well sums us up.
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Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl.
One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50.
How she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what. I'll buy you the necklace, and when we get home we can make up a list of chores that you can do to pay for the necklace. And don't forget that for your birthday Grandma just might give you a whole dollar bill, too. "Okay?"
Jenny agreed, and her mother bought the pearl necklace for her.
Jenny worked on her chores very hard every day, and sure enough, her grandma gave her a brand new dollar bill for her birthday.
Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls.
How Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere-to kindergarten, bed and when she went out with her mother to run errands.
The only time she didn't wear them was in the shower. Her mother had told her that they would turn her neck green!
Now Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night and read Jenny her favorite story. One night when he finished the story, he said, "Jenny, do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you," the little girl said.
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!" Jenny said. "But you can have Rosie, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?"
"Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. "Goodnight, little one."
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her story, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you."
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. Do you remember her? She's my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid it and everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy," the little girl said to her father.
"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."
Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling. "Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand.
With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and with the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet box.
Inside of the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls. He had had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so he can give us beautiful treasure.
Isn't God good?
What are you holding on to, the "fake or the real pearls"?
God only wants you to have the best.
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God Bless,
Chris
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