But then I read other friends' blogs, and their subject matter is often simple. It's just a way for them to capture moments. To not let their lives pass them by without reflection. But it seems I still need a "prompt" – a place to start from. So, today, I decided. I decided I would start with whatever Bible verse(s) I'd read that day and reflect on how the Scripture relates to my life and where I am in my journey. I thought the prompt could have a dual purpose – to help me fully internalize what God is trying to say to me, and to get me writing again.
So, I went into YouVersion to pull up my reading for today from my current reading plan about God's promises. But what was I faced with upon opening the app? YouVersion's verse of the day - NOT what I was planning to blog about. It reads: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst" (1 Timothy 1:15). And this just makes me further reflect on my good intentions gone unfulfilled.
Isn't that how most of us become the worst of sinners? Most of us don't set out to do wrong. We just wind up failing miserably at doing right. We got derailed along the way. We got focused on the wrong thing. We got busy and forgot what was important. But the amazing thing is: God is there. He's always there. Whether we are actively present with Him or not, He is actively present with us.
The verse I planned to use as my prompt for this post and my point of reflection reads: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). What an amazingly perfect verse to counter the “verse of the day” I quoted above! Although I must fully accept that Christ came to save sinners (like me) and recognize my role as such (which I agree, I am among the worst), God also provides guidance on how to make my path straight – by submitting to Him, leaning on Him and trusting Him with all my heart. The promise the verse offers (according to my reading plan, i.e., I stole this): If I trust God and seek him, He will show me the way to go. Yet alas, as much as this guidance and promise make sense, therein lies the problem. I don't always submit. I don't always lean. I don't always trust. I don't always seek. Or at least not ENOUGH. I still slip. I still fall. (Daily.) And sometimes it's so far from the path that God would have me on. But fortunately, the redemption remains.
My solace is in the fact that, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). You see, we can’t out-sin God’s grace. He’s got more than enough. And if we need more, he’s got more to provide. And knowing that gives us freedom to stop thinking about how good or bad we are, and to just start focusing on getting to know God more and better and discovering how loving He is that He would save us from ourselves.
But I find it so interesting that, when I Googled “greater sin results in more salvation” (which is NOT the way to find Rom 5:20, by the way), the results generated were links to the following questions that others had posed: “What is the greatest sin?” “How much sin results in the loss of salvation?” “Are there different degrees of sin?” And I’m wondering what these questions really mean. Are we looking for how much we can sin and still go to heaven? Are we looking for ways to judge others based on the severity of their sin? Are we trying to decide if God can forgive even X?
I’m learning that, while God certainly doesn’t want me to sin, my sin doesn’t scare Him away. He doesn’t just love me or others when we’re not sinning. And it’s the recognition that He conquered sin that redeems us, not our own ability to conquer sin once we’re saved. He’s not looking for perfect people (thank goodness, since there are none!). He’s looking for us to recognize His perfect love. And He just wants us to live in response to that love. Wow.
Now, if you ask me, THAT’s something worth blogging about!
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