One Immutable, Universal Truth

For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing. --Romans 7:19 (Amplified)

Does it seem like you are in a never-ending battle over sin? Not sin generally, but one particular indulgence, one choice you make when no one else is looking, that the next day you wish you hadn't done, but you know that you will be tempted with again tomorrow.  I know I do.  And apparently, we are in good company.  The Apostle Paul spent a lot of time in Romans chapter 7 writing about his battle, mankind's battle, with the sin nature.

Three things have impressed me this week, and I wanted to write about them, to share them with you.  At first, they did not seem in any way related.  But they all fall under the same heading, and I hope they are an encouragement to you.  "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13)

Displacement
Sunday, the guest speaker was at our church talking about tithing.  But he inserted this nugget, which I took a whole different way.  He said his wife will enjoy a cold glass of juice or milk or whatever, then she will place it in the sink and turn the water on and leave it running.  Sometimes she will forget it's on, and go into another room.  Drives this man crazy.  But he has learned something from it.  The longer a dirty cup stands under the flow of clean water, the cleaner the cup becomes.

His point, I think, was that if we, who are sinful, will place ourselves in a position to receive the outpouring of God's presence, His word, His Holy Spirit, then we will become more like Him.  The more Good we allow into our hearts, the more Bad will be displaced.  This is not a Yen and Yang type of thing--the goodness we seek is not within us, it is outside of us.  It is an act of our will to be in His will.

As I went home and pondered this, it occurred to me that I sincerely want to be more like Christ.  I want to fill my heart with His goodness, and overflow with His kindness.  I want to be filled with the Spirit, and exude Love, Joy, and Peace; Patience, Kindness, and Goodness; Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self Control.  Ah, but those last two are where I fall.  I am not always Faithful.  Sometimes I pull my Cup out from under the flow of God's Grace and Mercy.  Sometimes I lack the Self Control that is one of the hallmarks of the Christian life.  But I don't stop there.  It would be one thing if I took my Cup and placed it on a shelf.  It's not getting cleaner there, but it's not getting any filthier.

No.  When I take my Cup out from under the flow of God's blessing, I put a little crap in it.  A little sin, but not enough that anyone would notice.  A little indulgence, something covered by God's grace when I confess it later, but something that I have struggled with many, many times.  It's not considered an addiction; more like a bad habit.  Something I have control over, but choose not to avoid.

This week God convicted me of it.  Not focusing on the sin itself, but on the lack of obedience.  I can't ask God to make me clean, and still put crap into the cup.  God's grace is still abundant; it will be displaced when I go back to my position under the flow of His mercy.  But how much cleaner would my Cup be if I didn't keep spooning mud and muck into it?  How much deeper would I be able to experience the Love and Blessing of God if sin didn't always have to be displaced?

Here is a responsive reading for your next progressive church service, senior high retreat, or AA meeting:

Leader:  Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self indulgence. 

People:  Don't let me put crap in my cup.

Leader:  Blind Pharisees!  First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean.

People:  Don't let me put crap in my cup.

Leader: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

People:  Don't let me put crap in my cup.

Leader:  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

All:  Amen 

A wise man once said that God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you already know. God's revelation never exceeds our level of obedience. On Sunday morning I want to see God and heaven as John saw Him in the Revelation. I want to walk on water as Peter did, or be allowed to participate in miracles like both Peter and John did (Acts 3:1-6). But I can't know the fullness of God like that until I empty myself of myself, until I puke out whatever I have gorged myself with Saturday night. Only then can I ask that He fill me up completely.

Fruits and Roots
Believe it or not, I heard this concept in an NPR news interview between a Jewish reporter and an Egyptian official.  They were discussing the recent ouster of Egyptian President Morsi, and whether America should stop giving aid to the country until their government is more stable.  The Egyptian official was making a case for more aid, because it produces the fruit of democracy.  But the interviewer stated that the fruits we see are rooted in the act of rebellion, of a military coup d'etat.  Made me start thinking of the Christian walk.

If I want to grow strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might, if I want to bear much fruit, where will my roots be?  Psalm 1:3 talks about the Blessed Man: "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither."  Describes a man I want to be like, doesn't it you?

But what would happen if one of the roots of that tree breached an underground reservoir of oil or gasoline? Could that tree bear fruit if only one of its roots was entrenched in poison?  The tree would probably not die, since all the other roots are gathering water as fast as they can, to try to flush out the poison.  But instead of spending its life bearing fruit, that tree would be in the business of fighting itself, of flushing out the poison.  Unless that root died, the whole tree is useless.  "The ax is already at the root of the trees," John the Baptist preached, "and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (John 3:10).

Think about it.  Does sin have its tentacles around you? Are you firmly held in sin's grasp?  Or have you been like Eve, and cautiously dipped a toe into the forbidden stream?  If you are the former, call out to God and he will free you from sin's clutches.  But if you are the latter, then stop and think before you drink.  Choose before you lose.  Pray before you stray.

One universal, immutable truth
In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, an old, wizened prisoner was warning the younger man against getting his hopes up.  The younger prisoner wanted to start a prison library, to reform it from within.  He announced his intention of requesting money from the warden.  "Six wardens have been through here in my tenure," the old man says. "And I've learned one immutable, universal truth: Not one born whose (butt) wouldn't pucker up tighter than a snare drum when you ask for funds."

Thankfully, the God we serve is not that stingy.  He is like a River of Living Water that never runs dry.  He desires to bless us abundantly, to pour Himself out into us.  All we have to do is make ourselves available.  To plant ourselves by the River; to take our Cup off the shelf and place it under the fresh flowing stream.

What have you observed? What has been consistently revealed to you, that you would characterize as One Immutable, Universal Truth? Is it that toast always falls jelly-side down? Or is it that God is Love, and that you cannot out-give Him?  Think about it.  And if you want, leave a comment so that others can share in your bit of wisdom.  I would ask that you keep it PG, as this is a family post, and is meant to be an encouragement to others.