Farther Along

December 27, 2023

I have to admit I am somewhat surprised. About six months ago, God began hammering on me  concerning what it means to abide in Christ (John 15:3). I’ve been giving this considerable attention ever since, but it has proven harder than I imagined, I suspect because it runs deeper than I thought. 

We modern Americans have been raised to believe that people are basically good and that with proper education and time, we will continue to better ourselves. This of course, is in direct contradiction with the largely Puritan ethic around which this nation was founded. That ethic, based on the Christian doctrine of Original Sin, posited that human beings are inherently flawed and in need of divine intervention lest we descend irretrievably into prideful, hedonistic self-serving but ultimately destructive behavior. We have largely abandoned such thinking and expect to steadily improve without much effort on our part.

Even Christians such as myself easily drift into such erroneous thinking, thus my surprise at how difficult it has proven to be to live continually, consciously, and deliberately in an unbroken awareness of Christ in my daily life. I shouldn’t be surprised. St. Paul tells us, 

”The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” —Galatians 5:17

In the previous verse of Galatians, Paul shows us how it is possible to overcome the tendency towards sin which we all have. He says, 

“I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” To me, the operative word is “walk.” It implies a process to our salvation, a steady, often somewhat slow, and at times irregular affair. I wish I were progressing more steadily, and faster, but at least I’m aware of the magnitude of my own sin, and with that, I’m becoming more aware of the magnitude of my salvation. 

I’m walking, step by step. I wish I were farther along than I am, but as the old saying goes, I’m farther along than yesterday, but not as far as tomorrow. I expect to reach my goal one day. Until then, I’ll just keep walking.