peace . love . joy

Yesterday we did a Bible study about "putting sin to death" with our group of 17 year olds. Along the way, someone mentioned that it's quite hard to put sin to death, acknowledging that often we fail to do so, saying at times the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And that caught my attention at once.

Does that, that quote of the spirit being willing, but the flesh being weak, sound familiar to you?

Well, it should. It appears in the Bible. More specifically, it is spoken by Jesus Himself in the garden of Gethsemane before He was betrayed and arrested:

'And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."'

~ Matthew 26: 40-41

Methinks it is a fact, that while sometimes we are able to control ourselves, to discipline ourselves, to attempt to "put sin to death" by doing so, we do encounter situations where we find it practically impossible to succeed. But this struggle has a strange twist in that while we are so enthusiastic, so idealistic, so driven to want to resist committing a particular sin, or to obey a request of God's, we somehow find ourselves incapable. The primary enemy here, we realise, being not so much the devil, perhaps, as ourselves.

For example, feeling led to attend a night sermon, one cheerfully does so, but finds one cannot stay awake for its duration.
Or perhaps trying hard to kick the habit of watching pornography, one somehow finds oneself failing and going back again and again, even though the interest is consciously stifled, as though the finger has a mind of its own and automatically clicks on a link, and the eyes become glazed and passively watches subdued.

Admittedly, failure, especially repeated failure does get us down. We start off with the best intentions, the most excitement and resolution, but somewhere along the way riddled with in-vains after in-vains, those initial motives become blurred, those sentiments become muffled and abandoned. It is very easy to throw in the white towel, quoting what the Savior Himself conceded, saying we've tried, no doubt about that, we've tried and we were so willing to change, but our σάρξ, our flesh, our physical bodies were just so weak. It is as the Christ had said, it is as our Bible study student had said.

But aren't you forgetting something?

That was not all Jesus uttered that evening, and it is of vital importance when reading the Bible to read the entire verse, the entire chapter, or even better yet, the entire book. It is extremely crucial to not neglect and to quote out of context, out of reference, for such is the way of the devil. Half-truths are never Truth.

On the one hand, Jesus did say that while the mind may be indeed willing, the flesh is no doubt weak.
But on the other hand, He also subtly implied the invalidity of that statement by reminding us of the whole Truth; die ganze Wahrheit.

We are reminded, even before that truth of contrast between our "volatile strength" and "weak physique" was confessed, that we have residing in us a power far greater than our own puny human capabilities and abilities, a power far greater than the influence of the physical body, and that entity has been invited into our being the moment we said yes, the moment we realised our insufficiency and error, the moment we acknowledged our status with respect to another, the moment when we humbly took our place at His feet and bowed to the Sovereign God.

Our infinitely gracious and urgently loving Lord and Friend did not simply remind us that we have living within us a force we can use, in fact are to use. He left us precious instruction.

Our job is to submit to conviction and to commit to resolution. I like what Jonathan Edwards said to be "Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be". That is our duty, our choice, our first step to partake in a victory already won. Not forgetting, however, that because the flesh is weak, we must exercise and fully comprehend that reminder: we must not fail to draw on that higher power, to call on that higher being - God; we must not forget to pray, to call for His help, to seek His counsel, to be filled with His strength, to obey His instruction.

And He will answer. That I promise you.

Watch & Pray, said He.

Two things. Two beings. Two hands to clap.

Our all-powerful God is willing and ever-ready to respond, to help and to conquer.

Question is:

Are you?