Sin isn’t a popular subject
these days. People don’t want to talk about
sin much. That’s sad, though, because
all of us need to know from whence we come.
What is the old saying about not knowing history can lead to a repeating
of history? We certainly don’t need to
dwell on the past but we do need to remember from whence we come.
As a reader of the Bible and
a follower of Jesus I have been compelled to believe that we live in a world
that is dangerous because in that world we are free to choose how we go about
our lives. Sadly, we all chose against
the ways and means of our Creator. Sin
entered into our stories and everyday we must face the reality of our choosing. If it weren’t such a serious issue it would
almost be laughable how easily we can choose against God. Sin seems to be the natural, unrehearsed, and
spontaneous condition of the human heart.
Maybe I’m just testifying
but I have discovered that when I drift it always seems to be against God. I rarely drift toward God. My problem is not new; it goes all the way
back to Genesis chapter three where the enemy of God’s ways and means weasels
his way into the mind and emotions of Eve, and then Adam. Playing on Eve’s Eve-ness the serpent moves
her away from the truth into her perception of the truth, and then gets her to
act on her redefinition of what the truth is.
The drumroll goes down, the deed is done, and truth gets mired into
untruth. Adam and Eve choose against God
and for themselves, and the rest is one big, messy, journey of the enemy weaseling
his way into the lives of men and women, and creating a climate where he gets
his way so easily it stuns us.
At its simplest, sin is an
undoing of what is truth. Perhaps that’s
why Jesus told His disciples in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and
the truth will set your free.” If
you and I don’t want to drift anymore, it is crucial that we come to “know the
truth.” How might we come to this place,
this place where we actually “know the truth?”
Interestingly enough this truth is not simply head knowledge we can
grasp and on which we can pass a test.
Truth is a person. Jesus said, “I am the…Truth” (John
14:6). Do we know Him? What part is He
playing in our journey of life? How do
we actually come to know the truth?
Jesus said it rested in a relationship with Him. He said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine”
(John 8:31). We come to know truth as we come to know Jesus. In Him we “know the truth,” and in
the truth we are brought to a place of freedom.
Sin brought us down. Jesus brings us up. Half-truths tear us apart. Jesus’ truth sets us free. Deception rules in the world. Jesus’ truth rules in the human heart. In the inner place of freedom sin is brought
to its knees and we realize that we don’t have to live in the muck and
mire. The enemy seems to be all about
muck and mire. Jesus is about abundant
life (John 10:10).
Eve and Adam got it wrong,
but I’m not going to point my finger at them as I taunt them with the “what
where you thinking?” question. They knew
they got it wrong and that they had to live in light of their choosing; and,
truthfully, they simply did the very thing I do so often—choose poorly, choose
selfishly, choose as if my story is more important than any other story.
Yet Eve and Adam had one
thing going for them. They had God. They chose against God but he never chose
against them. And, He will never choose
against you, either. He won’t let sin go
unchallenged in you, but He will fight for your life with all that is in Him. Satan may inundate us with His crafty
scheming, as he did with Eve and Adam, but Satan is not Lord. He is good at what he does, but He is not
sovereign.
I have come to two
conclusions. First, I do desperately
need God in my life; and I emphasize “desperately.” I am capable of sin in word, thought and
deed, and I need a Savior, someone who can be a part of my life right down in
the midst of all the stuff. Secondly, I
have that Savior. Jesus has come right
down into the midst of all it means for me to be who I am, and He has come
truthfully. He is not deceitful,
spreading half-truths. He’s the real
deal. He lives as “the Way, the Truth,
and the Life” (John 14:6) in me and in Him I don’t have to drift or crash and
burn just because the deceiver shows up with salesman-like skill.
Sin is a part of the story
of our lives and our world, but so is God. Sin separates, divides, manipulates;
God reconciles. I can live with
that. Jesus nailed it down secure when
He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John
8:32).
God bless you as you walk with Jesus and make good choices because He is
in your life.
