‘For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him… they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.’
– Romans 1:21, 25
For years, I walked the spiritual “fence”. One side was God, the other side was the world, and I freely teetered back and forth. On Sundays I went to church, the rest of the week I lived like anyone else. In the morning I read my Bible, in the evening I indulged at happy hour. One minute I sang a song of praise, the next I sang songs of, well, not praise.
But this lifestyle isn’t new or particular to me. For generations upon generations, people who know God have not been honoring him or giving him thanks. People have traded the truth of God’s love and compassion for the lie that he’s holding out on them. And people have exalted the created order – the money, the beauty, the talent – over the Creative One himself.
This is still our battle today.
Our lives may not display the obvious, outward set of contradictions mine reflected, but inwardly, there is a perpetual war of desiring the things of this world and God. Perhaps this internal battle is even more dangerous, because it takes much discernment to know when the behaviors that aren’t “wrong” by definition are still dishonoring to the Lord.
Each of us were made to bear God’s image, to rule his creation and share in his glory. But like Eve found the prohibited tree delightful, we’re attracted to the things of this world and our own glory just the same. Satan preys on our defiance, and we take the bait. He leads us to believe what’s sacred is common. What’s holy is touchable.
Like a shopping cart with a broken wheel pulling the whole cart sideways, the natural pull of our hearts is to take good things and turn them into objects of worship. It is unnatural to us, even as Christians, to keep God in his rightful spot as Lord and King. As a cart needs constant correction to account for the wheel, we also need constant correction, intentional disciplines to account for the innate lusts of our hearts.
We learn if we continue in our natural ways, God will give us over to our desires. [1] James outlines our path: “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).
Death. The consequence we deserve. It leaves us hopeless without the antidote we could never be too familiar with.
God is good, and he cares about us to the point of death. We can fight the lie that he is holding out on us and fight the internal drive to glory with a feast at the cross. We can look to the one hanging. Listen to the displaced breathing. Touch the blood that pools below. And see. See the cost for our lives that was paid. See the resurrection on the third day. And see the new kingdom we have been brought into. We can see His glory, let our souls be filled, and let our minds rest confident.
Our God is worthy.
And when the spiritual highs wane and the distractions of life entice us once again, we can run into the arms of that same Savior who has never expected us to change our hearts ourselves. He promises, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules,” (Ezekiel 36:25-27). It takes time, discipline and continual recalibration. But in his mercy and kindness, God changes us from within and brings us into the life we were created for.
My spiritual fence came to an end one memorable weekend. Without an audible voice from heaven, God made clear it was time to choose: him or me. I had no idea what it was going to look like, no idea what I was supposed to do, but I knew which side I wanted.
Except years later, I’m still not scoring an A+ on the sanctification report like I expected. The temptations still come, the lies still feed in. But habits have been built and continue to be learned, and a general posture has changed. Our Lord is both King and Father, ruling with authority and relationship. He is the Creator who is blessed forever, eternally worthy of our worship. [2]
[1] Romans 1:22-24
[2] Romans 1:25
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. – Isaiah 40:8
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