Romans 7:15-17 - 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
In this tongue twister of a passage, Paul is wrestling with a problem we’ve all been dealing with since we realized the difference between right and wrong. In a given situation we know the correct course of action, we know what the Holy, saved by grace child of God should choose, and we just reject it. Sometimes with deliberation and sometimes it’s our gut instinct. This is obviously what the Bible refers to as sin.
If you care to wander down the Romans road you will quickly come across Romans 3:23 which lets us know that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin is a problem we all have, it’s a problem we all struggle with, and it’s a problem we won’t be able to solve this side of heaven.
One way of dealing with sin in our lives, looks like a farmer dealing with weeds in a field. The farmer must work every day to pull the weeds that might be encroaching. The field will never be perfect and pristine but as long as the farmer pulls those weeds as they come up the field will never be fully overtaken.
It may feel like fighting the wind or trying to punch a wave, but our mission is to run boldly after God and to bring as many people as we can along with us. In fighting sin, we will face hard times and we will fail. We must remember that it’s not the long walk home that will change our hearts, but the welcome I receive with every start. Though we are drawn towards shadows, we need only turn around to see that the light is right behind us.
If you know what is right, choose that!