"Sin-Meter"

"Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men." (Psalms 139:19)

  Maybe it is just me, but does sin seem to be increasingly sinful the older we get? Because I truly don't think it is as though I am sinning more, but it sure feels like it! This is probably the best test we have of our salvation in Christ, that sin is more and more offensive and stains our hearts. For this is the work of God, the closer we get to Him, the more our sin stands out and becomes apparent in our hearts. As a young man, I felt as though I had plenty of time to get this walk in order. Scriptures like 2 Peter 1:3-8, which present the virtues of our calling to glory, become the "but" spoken of in verse 9, as we look back upon our life and ponder the results. Truth be told, looking within does not help our situation! I know that there are all sorts of counseling programs and books that say otherwise, but we are under a whole different set of circumstances that is amazingly much much bigger than us! This is what Paul is talking about, when he says, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto the things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14) We actually never want to find ourselves in the place where we feel as though we have attained or perfected this walk, because it is not possible to do that, as long as we are in this corruptible bodies! This will always be a work in progress! And the closer we get towards the end of our life, the more vital the progress appears, the more urgent we are for change to happen, and it seems as though change is harder and harder to master. O wretched man that I am! This is why looking in does not work; we must keep our eyes on Jesus...

"Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)