Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Tuesday, August 2, 2022


Psalm 77


Hosea 7:8-16


Romans 7:13-25



For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self...



One of my favourite scenes in the Peter Jackson adaptation of the Lord of the Rings is when King Theoden is released from Saruman's curse. Wormtongue, that agent of evil, has been whispering lies into the good king's ear for years. Thinking his domain safe and prosperous, it is not until Gandalf comes and banishes the evil counsellor that the king sees who he truly was when held under that spell. Rising from his throne, his old sword placed once again in his hand, he looks with fresh eyes on the people he is called to protect.


Sin also is a big fat liar. The nation of Ephraim, thinking themselves wonderful, lovely people, were actually “a cake unturned”: burnt and hard on one side, gooey and raw on the other. They weren't a young, strong warrior; they were more like an old, weak, grey man.


We are passing through the section of Romans on sanctification (that fancy word that describes the process of getting closer to God). Struggling with the fact that we still sin, even though we are saved once and for all by the cross of Jesus, Paul has some words of encouragement. If we were unredeemed, we would have no problem living in sin: we would be quite happy to remain old and frail, stuck on our throne, with the evil one whispering nice-sounding lies into our ears. But now we have a new will, a new spiritual home base, a new relationship with God where instead of hiding from His wrath, we depend and trust on His love. Struggling with sin does not make us bad Christians; quite the opposite! The struggle rather is overwhelming evidence that God loves us and He has made us His special, chosen, ever-beloved children.



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