Romans 7:18
I know that
nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire
to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
My
parents have been visiting us this past week. The other day we took them on a
ride up to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was a beautiful autumn
drive through forests beginning to burst forth with color. In the park, we
stopped at the dune climb area to get a better look at the massive sand dunes,
which rise 462 feet above Lake Michigan. We sat in the car and watched groups
of people struggle their way up the sand dune. A family of four caught my eye.
There was a mom and dad and two small children. The dad carried the baby up the
dune, while the mom encouraged the small boy to keep climbing. He would get to
his feet and climb up several steps. Then he would fall into the soft sand and
slide back a little. Each time he fell, his mom would encourage him to get up
and keep climbing.
As I
reflected upon that scene later, I realized how much it illustrated our
spiritual journey. When we first put our faith in Christ, we are like the baby
in the arms of his father. We are carried ahead in an almost effortless way.
But there comes a time when we are placed onto our spiritual feet and
encouraged to climb on our own. Our heavenly Father is still right there to
encourage us and to pick us up when we fall. But He wants us to make the effort
to climb on our own. He knows that that is the only way our spiritual muscles
will grow strong. He will not allow us to tumble down the hill, but He will allow
us to slip backwards. He wants us to learn to trust in His strength and not our
own. He wants us to keep our eyes on Him and not on the climb.
In
Romans 7, Paul talks about his own struggles on his spiritual journey. He is
very honest to say that there is a battle going on within himself. His greatest
desire is to follow Christ completely, yet he still stumbles and falls along
the way. As he says, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I
do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15) Although Paul struggled to
overcome the evil within him, he also knew that the grace of God was sufficient
to overcome his struggles. In Romans 8:1-2 he triumphantly proclaimed, Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and
death.
I can
identify with both the little boy climbing the sand dune and with Paul. My own
spiritual journey has been a mixture of progress and regress. There are times
when my spiritual confidence actually trips me up because I begin to depend on
my own effort and not Christ’s strength. There are times when, in frustration,
I fall in the sand and slip backwards. Each time that I fall, Christ is right
there to pick me up and put me back on my feet. He is continually challenging
me to keep my eyes on Him and to exercise my faith in practical ways. Jesus
knows that the climb up the spiritual sand dune will be hard, but He has also
promised to give us the strength to make the climb. "I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
I know
that those parents would not leave their little boy stuck half-way up the huge
sand dune. I also know that God will not leave me stuck half-way up my own
spiritual sand dune. Even though my progress may be slow at times, or even if I
slide backwards for a time, I know that Christ will get me to the top, not by
my effort, but through His strength.
Philippians 1:4-6
In all my prayers
for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the
gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began
a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
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