I am 60 years old. My journey of walking with Christ is at year 41. I am encouraged with all that God has graciously done in me and certainly there is MORE to do, but I’ve not always felt that way. The first couple of years felt euphoric as I passed from death to life, from wasting my life to enjoying the life God had given me. Not only did some behaviors change, but most surprisingly, so did my desires. One profound moment for me happened 3 months post conversion at the CRU (Campus Crusade) Christmas Conference. Dr. Bill Bright, the founder and President of CRU, challenged us to make a commitment to become a slave of Jesus Christ, to yield to Christ for the rest of our lives. Later that night, with a tear dripping on the inside page of my Bible, I wrote the following words: “On December 31st, 1982, I became of slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
That declaration was genuine, as genuine of a desire as I’ve ever had about anything. It was also naïve! Sincere but uninformed! What I did not and could not have known at that early stage of my journey was how long and hard the journey would be. Trust me when I say, it was not very long before REALITY hit me like a hard right hook. Injuries in college football, the death of my Dad, marriage, kids, lack of money, new jobs, the pain of growing as a leader at home and work, conflict with other believers, being the adult son of an alcoholic and the many issues that come with it, plus, there was a conflict raging inside of me that Paul describes plainly in Romans 7:17-24. Read slowly about part of his journey in Christ from ‘The Message’.
“For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?”
If you are like me and I suspect you are, you deeply resonate with Paul’s description of his battle with sin this side of heaven. Paul’s journey is MY journey. Paul’s journey is YOUR journey. No one, and I mean NO ONE, escapes this journey if they are serious about putting sin to death and maturing in Christ.
A few years into my journey someone recommended I read the Christian classic, “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan. The novel is an allegory. The main character, ‘Christian’, goes on a difficult journey from his home in the City of Destruction to the beautiful Celestial City. A spiritual journey through this sin wrecked world that is preparing him for eternity with Christ. Here is how Bunyan describes the reality of this journey that we ALL must take if we are to grow and change into Christlikeness.
“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend;
The difficulty will not me offend.
For I perceive the way to life lies here.
Come, pluck up, heart; let's neither faint nor fear.
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”
Notice with me the contrasting words: Difficult vs. Easy! Difficult = the right way to go. Easy = the wrong way to go. I feel the truth of that deep in my bones. EVERY SINGLE DAY my flesh wants THE EASY path. I wish it were not so, but it is.
I have learned the hard way, and am still learning, that there are no days off in our chasing after Christ. I cannot live on ‘old’ bread. My Flesh is too strong, the Devil is too deceptive, and the World is much too influential for me to rest on my laurels because I stacked a few good days together. To put it candidly, I am weak with a capital “W”. Goodness gracious, it’s frustrating. It can drive me nutty at times. I cannot escape from my own worst enemy-myself. Our sinful nature does not tuck its tail between its legs and flee when we become Christians. Instead, it declares war. One writer calls it, “A Very Messy Journey”. To that I say, Amen!
So, what are the steps we ALL need to take to ensure that we journey well until we meet Christ eyeball to eyeball in eternity? Let me suggest three of them as we move through this coming year:
- Paul provides a big picture solution to his own dilemma in Romans 8:1: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. On your worst days, when it feels like the devil has you in a choke hold that WWE wrestler Rick Flair would be jealous of, there is still NO CONDEMNATION for us, His children. We must preach this truth to ourselves over and over!
- God’s Mercies are NEW every morning. Confess your sin and sing a new song of God’s eternal mercies to His people. Spurgeon put it this way: “God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of it’s light, than diminish the great mercy of God.”
- Be intentional and determined to be equipped in Christ. Don’t settle. Don’t take the easy road that leads to ‘woe’, as Bunyan says. Sign up for the life giving, but difficult path, of growth. This coming semester FBC is offering engagement in community groups around evangelism, some great men’s and women’s studies, events to help you connect with others believers, retreats, mission trips and more. Take advantage of these opportunities with a heart that KNOWS you are on a journey, a very difficult one that is so very worth it.