Overwhelmed

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? -Romans 7:24


Another respected Christian has been dragged down into the muck and mire.

If you were to read the self-confessed details of his fall and how he ignored the gracious warnings of guilt and fear, you might wonder, "How can these things be?"

At the risk of sounding crass, I will repeat a statement I have often made to my youngest daughter: "Men are dogs."

All that separates us from the lower animals is our ability to reason, to think (i.e., to plot and plan to achieve our base desires).

Harsh and simplistic, yes. But useful for our purpose in seeking understanding.

We are fallen. However regenerate my heart may be, it is still wicked and deceitful. I shudder to think what I might be up to, were it not for the indwelling Spirit's power to convict and inspire repentance.

Whenever we (men and women) seek to act in God's place to meet our own perceived needs, we have sinned. Otherwise godly desires have been twisted and perverted and an idol has been raised up.

I fear isolation (the self-imposed kind). Oh, may I not cut myself off from godly conversation and counsel. I need the iron of my friends in Christ to keep me sharp and alert.

Surely we realize that none of us is immune from temptation, that Satan comes, in places and moments of weakness to drag us down.

We must remember Paul's warning: "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall."

Pray for the saints.