“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
John 3:19
A few weeks ago I heard this charge given to a group of men:
Let’s say that tomorrow you wake up and commit yourself towards not judging anyone. You get dressed for work, grab a bite to eat in the kitchen and jump into the car. I am willing to bet that by the time you get to work, you have failed to not judge. Maybe you make it two blocks down the road until someone cuts you off and you find yourself muttering words about the driver of that car. Or maybe you pull up to a stoplight and notice someone driving an old, junk car that hasn’t passed an E-Check in three decades and you find yourself instantly judging the driver. Whatever the case… you won’t make it very far on your own efforts.
Can you relate? On our own, we are incapable of living life free from sin. In fact, once we realize how hopeless we truly are, I think there are generally only two options.
The first option is to continue living life like we always have. On this path we may try to succeed a few more times on our own, but eventually we lose hope and justify sin in our minds as acceptable. At the end of our lives our best bet is to cross our fingers and hope for the best.
The second option is that we fully understand the ugliness of sin. Sin is detestable. We know that alone we are no good. Understanding that we are sinful gives us a reason for a savior.
My challenge this week is to think about which category you relate to most. Realizing that we are completely defenseless on our own against sin is hard to face sometimes but the Bible has great news for those of us that are tired of trying alone.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
- Matt
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