Dropping Like Flies
The past few days I've had an infestation of flies. Not fruit flies. Not normal sized house flies. These were big and slow. Unlike house flies, they didn't constantly land on me. They were just there. Annoying. Icky. I swatted a few. Actually, I swatted more than a few, and the next morning there would be three or four more. Annoying. Did I say that already? Where are they coming from?!
Then, this morning, they were all dead. Three in the kitchen, two by the desk. And I watched one fly lazily by, land on the floor, and he never got up again. He just died.
Did someone sneak in overnight and spray poison? What the heck happened? I'm not complaining, mind you, it's just weird.
A sudden death for all things icky.
I wish death for sin was as complete.
Too often I feel like I am living in Romans 7. "For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me." (7:14-20)
Through the death and resurrection of Christ, I have been freed from the power of sin. So why does sin buzz around my head like lazy flies? Annoying. Icky.
Romans 8 is one of my favorite bits of Scripture because it promises me that there is now no condemnation -- no judgment -- for those who believe in Christ. Hallelujah! But, as they say, the struggle is real.
Like weeds in a garden that must be constantly pulled up by the roots. Like dirty dishes that constantly demand my attention. Like flies that seem to die and resurrect so that there are always more and more.
As Christians, we must strive for purity of thought, word, and action. If it helps, rid your bookshelf of those romance novels; break ties with that group of friends, or suggest coffee rather than alcohol; join WW for the accountability. Those things might help you take out what's wrong, but they won't replace it with what's good.
That requires Scripture and prayer.
We are saved by faith. Instantaneously, never to be lost. But sanctification, being made more like Christ, is something else again. That takes time, and the best way for it to happen is to be in constant communication with God through prayer and Bible reading.
Prayer is how we talk to God; Scripture is how He talks to us (more often than not). Scripture tells us what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives; prayer is how we access that power.
The communication needs to be constant because the world and our own sinful natures are constantly pulling us in the wrong direction. But just as constant is God's grace and forgiveness.
Gosh darn it! Did I just see another fly?
