I have poison ivy. I've never had it before and it's awful. Over the past week I've had lots of time to think about it while I'm awake at night (not scratching of course) and trying to find solutions to my discomfort. I've come up with a few reasons that I've been stricken with the itch, but perhaps the most productive is an overwhelming analogy to sin.
I'm itchy - all the time. And I really just want to scratch. I just know that it'll feel so much better if I scratch. Unfortunately, the relief is short lived and in actuality it makes the itching worse, prolongs the healing process, and may even lead to scarring. Such is sin. There are some sins in my life that I choose to indulge in because in the moment I've convinced myself that they're better than God. Idols. I choose laziness because I tell myself that I deserve to rest and I'll feel much more refreshed if I sit down and watch tv instead of doing laundry, dishes, or even sit and have a quiet time. In reality, I'm delaying what I really need to do and heaping more work on myself for later. Not to mention that I'm creating distance between myself and God when I could be drawing near to Him in solitude. Also, habitual sins really can cause spiritual scarring that's hard to recover from. I could give tons of examples, and I'm sure you can think of a few of your own.
The Rev has taken it upon himself to be my scratch accountability. Every time he catches me scratching, he sternly tells me to stop. I don't like it at the time, but he's just looking out for my best interest. Well, I'm sure he doesn't like the sound of me scratching in bed either, but mostly he's looking out for me :) Similarly, with sin, we have to surround ourselves with people that will call us out on our sinful behavior. We may not always like it, but it's so necessary to have people in our lives that will say the hard things to us with our best interest in mind. The Rev once said, "I need people in my life that care more about my relationship with Christ than my friendship or opinion of them." SO true.
Like I said before, I've never had poison ivy before. I assumed I didn't get it. WRONG. Because I'd never had it I never learned how to identify and stay away from it. I saw a vine creeping up the side of our house and decided to try to pull it off. Apparently that wasn't a good idea because it was poisonous :( My last connection to sin here is that we have to learn how to identify circumstances, situations, people, materials, etc. that can lead us to sin. Know what it is in your life that may tempt you to scratch (indulge in sin) and stay away from it! Just because you've never struggled with something before doesn't mean you never will.
Of course, all analogies fall apart somewhere. My poison ivy will eventually go away. My sin is a permanent condition that I will continually have to fight. Although I have been justified through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, I will continually be going through the process of sanctification (becoming more like Christ). It's a battle and I have to choose daily to follow Him and die to my idols. It's time to stop scratching the itch.
I'm itchy - all the time. And I really just want to scratch. I just know that it'll feel so much better if I scratch. Unfortunately, the relief is short lived and in actuality it makes the itching worse, prolongs the healing process, and may even lead to scarring. Such is sin. There are some sins in my life that I choose to indulge in because in the moment I've convinced myself that they're better than God. Idols. I choose laziness because I tell myself that I deserve to rest and I'll feel much more refreshed if I sit down and watch tv instead of doing laundry, dishes, or even sit and have a quiet time. In reality, I'm delaying what I really need to do and heaping more work on myself for later. Not to mention that I'm creating distance between myself and God when I could be drawing near to Him in solitude. Also, habitual sins really can cause spiritual scarring that's hard to recover from. I could give tons of examples, and I'm sure you can think of a few of your own.
The Rev has taken it upon himself to be my scratch accountability. Every time he catches me scratching, he sternly tells me to stop. I don't like it at the time, but he's just looking out for my best interest. Well, I'm sure he doesn't like the sound of me scratching in bed either, but mostly he's looking out for me :) Similarly, with sin, we have to surround ourselves with people that will call us out on our sinful behavior. We may not always like it, but it's so necessary to have people in our lives that will say the hard things to us with our best interest in mind. The Rev once said, "I need people in my life that care more about my relationship with Christ than my friendship or opinion of them." SO true.
Like I said before, I've never had poison ivy before. I assumed I didn't get it. WRONG. Because I'd never had it I never learned how to identify and stay away from it. I saw a vine creeping up the side of our house and decided to try to pull it off. Apparently that wasn't a good idea because it was poisonous :( My last connection to sin here is that we have to learn how to identify circumstances, situations, people, materials, etc. that can lead us to sin. Know what it is in your life that may tempt you to scratch (indulge in sin) and stay away from it! Just because you've never struggled with something before doesn't mean you never will.
Of course, all analogies fall apart somewhere. My poison ivy will eventually go away. My sin is a permanent condition that I will continually have to fight. Although I have been justified through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, I will continually be going through the process of sanctification (becoming more like Christ). It's a battle and I have to choose daily to follow Him and die to my idols. It's time to stop scratching the itch.
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