Category Archives: Sin

Come and get me.

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Any of us who’ve lost loved ones to death find our thoughts moving between two different worlds, the here and the hereafter. This back-and-forth thought process includes a pause at a theological stop sign: Christ’s second coming.

According to the calendar of human history, we’re living in that middle ground between Jesus’ first coming and his second, his first as a newborn who grew into our radical Savior, and his second as a Victor in battle.

Once in a while I think, “What if Jesus returned tonight?”

The Second ComingHe promised that when he did come back, it would be to defeat evil and escort Christians to heaven. He actually said, “I’ll take you home with me.” (John 14:2)

I love that he’s implying we’ll feel at home when we get to heaven. It’ll be similar to returning home after an arduous journey with a big “ahhh” of contentment. But I’m not really sure I want it to be tonight, and there’s a good reason: I need more time to do better at the Christian life.

Most of us get only 7 or 8 decades on the earth, and it took me about half of those to get into gear in my walk with the Lord. Much of my early life was bare-minimum believing as I straddled a spiritual fence between obedience and rebellion. Even now in my late 60′s, I should be doing much better.

So, I figure, I need more time to keep trying.

Is Jesus reading this and chuckling? Or is he reading it and saying, “You’ve got the right idea.” Being unsure of the answer is an indication of my spiritual immaturity. Of course I’m longing to be with Jesus and walk into his home, discovering the place he’s prepared for me. But as the Bible so aptly puts it,”Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 4:9) Time to try harder will eventually end.

My hesitation to head to heaven isn’t because I want to earn more glory-points. It’s about feeling bad over personal sin and hoping to become a better daughter to my heavenly Father. There’s just one nagging thought behind my philosophy of wanting more earthly time. What if my condition as a human being is exactly the factor that’s prohibiting greater success at godly living? What if even the most saintly person among us feels just like I do, no matter how many years she’s had to work on it?

In that case, it would be a really good thing if Jesus just came and got us tonight.

“To the one who does not work but trusts God, who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5)

What a Character

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Character CountsWe often see the slogan “Character Counts” on banners stretched across elementary school entrance doors and are taught from young ages that who we are when no one’s watching is the real us. Some people conduct their lives based on principles they refuse to compromise, but others live in the wiggle-room between conviction and chaos.

Most of us know that doing the right thing usually means making the hard choice, and that’s especially true when no one’s keeping track. But how many people actually do the right thing every time? Probably not many.

What if we define the specific lines we won’t cross no matter what, and then a test comes? How likely is it we’ll stick to our guns? How likely we’ll give in?

Satan lives by a set of principles, too. The trouble is, his are always at odds with ours, if we’re Christians. Everything that coaxes us to violate our own standards comes from him. But sometimes we can be our own worst enemy, unaware of crossing our own lines-in-the-sand until both feet are planted on the wrong side.

We tell ourselves, “A thought to do something bad is only a temptation, not a sin. I can’t help what pops into my head, and one thought leads to another. Until I’ve acted on it, it can’t be sin.” Is that the truth?

Scripture teaches us how to defend our principles by providing a model in Jesus. As we study his example, we see how to faithfully do what’s right. He lived a human life hounded by the devil just like we are, but he never crossed the line into sin. Satan often used the established Jewish big-wigs to harass him in unrelenting attempts to break down his resolve.

PhariseeOne day these officials approached him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.” (Matthew 22:16) Then they went on to try to trap him with words. But in this introductory statement we find two keys to living a principled life: (1) Base it on “the way of God in accordance with the truth,” and (2) don’t be swayed by the opinions of others.

As we work at these two things, we’ll learn to deny our natural me-firsts and substitute the ways of Christ. With enough practice, we’ll stop justifying our sins and find ourselves doing the right thing, even when no one’s watching.

“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)