Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
I vividly remember the day that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour. As I sat in the pew listening to a missionary share the gospel, I was deeply convicted of my sin. The moment the invitation was given, I rushed to the altar to seek His forgiveness and receive His gift of salvation. That was the easy part.
I have discovered that living a life for Christ is hard work. Facing those day-after-day struggles while trying to follow in Jesus’ footsteps is not an easy task for me. The lure of the world is unending; the pleasures of sin, albeit for just a season (Hebrews 11:25) are constantly a temptation. To use the “escape route” provided to me by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 10:13) is not always my first thought. Why is that? Because it is easy for me to rationalize and consent to sin with lies that I choose to believe. Why would I do that? Because sin can be very enjoyable. That’s part of its allure. Have you ever heard the phrase, “It doesn’t hurt anyone”? I have, and I’ve bought into it… for years. Regrettably, I have used that as an excuse for my own sin many times. Listening to worldly music or watching an ungodly television show doesn’t hurt anyone, does it? Harboring unkind thoughts about others, but never voicing them, that doesn’t hurt anyone, right? WRONG!
Remember the cross? Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, hung on that cross. I Peter 2:24 speaks of Jesus, saying, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” I may argue that my sin doesn’t hurt me or another person in the here and now, but there is no denying that my sin deeply hurt my Saviour. Physically, he was beaten, tortured, and killed for my sin. Emotionally, He was separated for the first time in all eternity from His beloved Father (Matthew 27:46). To say my sin doesn’t hurt anyone is a lie. It hurt my Lord and Saviour more than I can ever imagine, and it continues to hurt Him when I sin today (Genesis 6:6).
So, what can I do? I should seek to live as He lived, walk in His footsteps, and remember that I have a divine power at my disposal to fight sin. The presence of God’s Holy Spirit dwells within me, empowering me to make the right choices. Wrong choices, sinful choices, lead to regret and despair, but the right choices, the choices that please God, those lead to a heart “abounding therein with thanksgiving!”
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14