Miles to Go

John Piper wrote that one of the most discouraging things about the Christian life is the slow pace of change.  Ditto. It is not uncommon for believers to struggle with the same issues for decades. Indeed, some may be the griefs of lifetimes.  I’m not speaking of insincere Christians. And those who struggle do so mostly alone because frailty is isolating. How many people are there that you really trust anyway?  The biblical admonition to confess faults to one another is unused because we know our friends too well. But how heavy is the weight of conscience and how lonely we become as a result.

Hallmarks of real Christianity are the desires to live for God and the commencement of new life.  If these things are not present in the lives of professed believers, then they are not believers at all.  Real salvation requires repentance- a change of mind. The process of becoming Christlike, however, is easier said than done.  It is this process, called sanctification, of which I speak. For the most part, sanctification is a slow process though there may be dramatic victories along the way.  Failure to understand the nature of this change causes much discouragement and false pride. My sins are not as bad as someone else’s.  

Another aspect regarding change in the life of a believer is that it is uneven.  We are always succeeding and always failing. Jesus warned us not to get part of the picture, and Paul encouraged us to run the whole race.  Don’t do one and leave the other undone. It is hoped that we are generally progressing, but, even in our areas of strength, we occasionally suffer setbacks.  For instance, you may have found it was easier for you to have faith in a former day, such as childhood, before life beat you up. This would not be uncommon since faith is the strength of children and cynicism the calling card of age.

I’m saying these things are true of sincere Christians that want to do right.  We are mistaken to believe that only those who don’t care can fall. At any time, we can let things we have heard, even learned, slip.  There are sad examples from the past, and each of us today can look woefully on a time of personal inadequacies. Personally, I believe some skirt the issues of their own failings through selective and reconstructionist memories.  I’ve known a couple of sinless-perfectionists who believed in their own sinlessness though no one else did. We ought not embrace our imperfections, but we should acknowledge them so that we can find grace.

Salvation is a free gift but also a commitment.  We all live the new life imperfectly, so the issue becomes whether we are living the new life at all.  There is a difference between a person who falls and one who is continually in a stumbling run.  I should not be concerned with actions alone when I observe another’s life because I may be misled at any single point.  Rather, I need to know something of the intents of the heart, the obstacles faced and the efforts extended.

The road is long with many a winding turn.  We are continually enticed and encouraged to seek easier paths to facilitate our journeys.  I must continue to climb. I have promises to keep.

Sterl