Battling Klingons

January 14, 2019

“Cling to what is good.” So says Romans 12:9. I decided at the beginning of the new year to make this verse the focus of my meditations. There’s more to it than this short phrase, but it’s these words that have my attention tonight, especially that “cling to.” One might think that to a preacher, the “good” would come more or less naturally, but this couldn’t be much further from the truth. The doctrine of Original Sin is still a basic tenet of the Christian faith, partly because it explains so much of what we see all around us and within us. The Reformed theologians spoke of Total Depravity, meaning not that everything we do is as bad as it could be, but that there is no area of our lives untouched by sin. The old hymn says it well: “Take away our bent to sinning...” 

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of sins that “cling so tightly” (12:1). It’s really quite ironic that sin clings to me, but I have to consciously cling to the good. That’s what Original Sin is all about; sin finds me, but I have to look for and hold on with desperation to the good. There are times when everything within me wants to let go of the good and let the sin hold onto me. It’s called spiritual warfare; God has given us the tools to fight the battle (see Ephesians 6:10-18), but we are the ones who must actually do the fighting. After Paul describes the weapons we have, he describes the battle itself when he says, “praying always...” It’s not a fight won in the classroom, in the halls of government, or by force of arms, but by prayer. It is in prayer that I best cling to the good and shake off the sin that would cling to me. Thank God for this marvelous privilege of coming before the throne of grace to find mercy and grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).