AUGUST 3, 2015
On the Edge
Read:
Romans
6:16-23
Whoever
commits sin is a slave of sin. —John 8:34
There’s an underground
lava tube south of Kuna, Idaho, that has gained a certain amount of local
notoriety. The only entrance, as far as I know, is a yawning shaft that plunges
straight down into darkness.
Some years ago I stood at the edge
of that shaft and looked down. I was drawn to venture closer and almost lost my
balance. I felt a moment of heart-pounding terror and stepped away from the
opening.
Sin is like that: Curiosity can
draw us toward the darkness. How often have men and women gotten too close to
the edge, lost their balance, and fallen into the darkness? They’ve destroyed
their families, reputations, and careers through adulterous affairs that began
with a “mere” flirtation but then progressed to thoughts and actions. Looking
back they almost always say, “I never thought it would come to this.”
We think we can flirt with
temptation, get very close to the edge, and walk away, but that’s a fool’s
dream. We know an action is wrong and yet we toy with it. Then, inescapably, we
are drawn into deeper and darker perversions. Jesus put it simply: “Whoever
commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).
And so, seeing our own need for
God’s help, we pray as David did in Psalm 19:13, “Keep back Your servant also
from [deliberate] sins; let them not have dominion over me.”
Heavenly Father,
whether we are being tempted now, or have fallen, we thank You that You are
always there, and You love us with relentless love. We have nowhere to turn but
to You.
A big
fall begins with a little stumble.
INSIGHT:
Having proven that all
people are sinners and having shown how sinners are justified through faith in
Jesus (Rom. 1–4), Paul now describes the new life we can have because of what
Jesus did (chs. 5–8). We can live differently, we can choose not to sin, and we
can live holy lives (6:1-14). In today’s passage, Paul warns that we become the
slave of whatever we choose to obey (vv. 16-20). Rather than give ourselves to
sin, we are to give ourselves to God (vv. 22-23). When we do sin, we bear the
consequences of our sins and experience a lack of fellowship with God (Gal.
6:7-8). Sim Kay Tee
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015