In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis illustrates and says:
If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.
So many of us are trying to hold on to both Heaven and to Hell. We are trying to do enough to please God to make ourselves feel better (which is really only trying to please ourselves, when you stop to think about it). We do this while holding on to the very things that Christ died to free us from. If we follow God, we must do so wholeheartedly, there is no middle ground.
I was reminded of this today as I was driving home a song came on that I hadn’t heard in a while. The band was Petra, and the song was Jekyll & Hyde. For those interested, you can listen to the song on YouTube, or for those less inclined to rock music, you can read the lyrics.
The song addresses an issue that all Christians face. The struggle between our spirit and our flesh. The struggle between doing what is right, and not doing what is wrong. Paul mentions this in Romans 7.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
There are many debates surrounding this passage, and I encourage you to dive in and study them, but what is clear is in verse 20 Paul says that this struggle with our flesh is a struggle with sin. Sin is the distorting of our natural desires. The difference between Paul’s struggle, and what is mentioned in the song is that too many of us see this as anything but a struggle. We go through life treating this as more of a symbiotic relationship which allows the host body to survive. We go to church to get our spiritual fix so that our spirit doesn’t totally die, and so we can check off our “good thing for the week” list. Then we go home and browse sites we shouldn’t be browsing or drink to much. Or maybe it’s at the office during the week when we “secretly” keep staring thinking sexual thoughts about the new girl, or maybe it’s something as seemingly innocuous as looking down on people from where they are from, the way they talk, or the way they were raised. Let’s not lie to ourselves, we aren’t deceiving anyone.
For those that stay home alone watching porn, they aren’t coming across as innocent in their thoughts to God, and don’t think no one sees the long stares at the girls around the room. Those that drink too much are thought of as fools, except among their own company of fellow drinkers…that doesn’t say much for their status. Those that look down on others because of race, the way they talk, and the like are simply talked about behind their back because they can’t hide their ignorant disdain well enough. Oh, and that gives the people who love gossip more fuel for the fire, so thanks for that.
Let’s not kid ourselves, we all live in this complacent lifestyle. How often are we really coming to terms with the things that hold us captive and truly wage war on them? How many of us truly plead the blood of Christ over these addictive substances or character traits?
Galatians 5:1
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Christ’s blood redeemed us, it justified us in God’s sight, but there’s a piece missing. That piece is sanctification, the process of becoming more like Christ. Too many of us accept that redemption and justification, and then fight the process of becoming more like Christ. We will fight for freedom from tyrants, we will fight for freedom from corrupt governments, but do we pick up the fight for our very souls? No, we do all we can to avoid that fight. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE THINKING!?
When are we going to wake up and pick up the only fight we are guaranteed to win?
