Because we see things on a linear time scale. In life, you're born and you grow and achieve and get better and better at whatever you're supposed to be doing and then you die.
In spirit, you become a Christian and we apply the same expectation that that is base point. While Christian growth is definitely paramount and constant renewal brings about some permanent growth, the church misses the "daily" struggle that is such a part of it all. Precisely why you may feel really close to God one day, and the next week you're doing something that is so bad, you're disgusted with yourself, and you think you're horrible and maybe you were never close to God to begin with. Precisely why people don’t feel ‘saved’ and every time Bailey Smith comes to town, they’re down at the altar to get saved. Missed is you’re not failing because you were never saved. It is because you're not surrendering to the gospel on a daily, even hourly, basis and it is the battle for EVERY Christian.
And why we lack authenticity. People self-examine and think, "I'm really much more horrible than people think I should be at this point in my Christian walk" and why people are scared to be real in front of Christians. Also why these self-righteous pastors get into abhorrent, sinful lifestyles that the average person is shocked. They live that way for so long, pretending to be uber-Christian and not subject to sin anymore, it bottles up inside and they can't cope and their sin takes on a very dark hue, relatively speaking.
Good quote. We should all be thankful and mindful of the daily aspect of the Christian walk and pointedly, that the flesh is alive and kicking, and if we allow it to be the mechanism in our day, we will be no different from the unregenerate. The good news is, the Spirit that is in us is ready to be activated and is far superior to that old nature. I’m picturing you getting pummeled in the wrestling ring and you’re almost down for the count, but then you tag up and Hulkamania runs wild. Game over. That is the Spirit in our lives, ready to come in the ring and go Goldberg on our sin.
2 comments:
Because we see things on a linear time scale. In life, you're born and you grow and achieve and get better and better at whatever you're supposed to be doing and then you die.
In spirit, you become a Christian and we apply the same expectation that that is base point. While Christian growth is definitely paramount and constant renewal brings about some permanent growth, the church misses the "daily" struggle that is such a part of it all. Precisely why you may feel really close to God one day, and the next week you're doing something that is so bad, you're disgusted with yourself, and you think you're horrible and maybe you were never close to God to begin with. Precisely why people don’t feel ‘saved’ and every time Bailey Smith comes to town, they’re down at the altar to get saved. Missed is you’re not failing because you were never saved. It is because you're not surrendering to the gospel on a daily, even hourly, basis and it is the battle for EVERY Christian.
And why we lack authenticity. People self-examine and think, "I'm really much more horrible than people think I should be at this point in my Christian walk" and why people are scared to be real in front of Christians. Also why these self-righteous pastors get into abhorrent, sinful lifestyles that the average person is shocked. They live that way for so long, pretending to be uber-Christian and not subject to sin anymore, it bottles up inside and they can't cope and their sin takes on a very dark hue, relatively speaking.
Good quote. We should all be thankful and mindful of the daily aspect of the Christian walk and pointedly, that the flesh is alive and kicking, and if we allow it to be the mechanism in our day, we will be no different from the unregenerate. The good news is, the Spirit that is in us is ready to be activated and is far superior to that old nature. I’m picturing you getting pummeled in the wrestling ring and you’re almost down for the count, but then you tag up and Hulkamania runs wild. Game over. That is the Spirit in our lives, ready to come in the ring and go Goldberg on our sin.
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