Sin is destructive. Human desires are impure.

I’ve been thinking this week about areas in my life that I must change for the sake of my Christian witness, and for the sake of glorifying the Lord in all areas of my life.

Once confronted with sin in my life, I was almost immediately bombarded with recollections of Bible verses and song choruses that deal with sin.

Let me lay my thought process out, based on Colossians 2 and 3.

Sin:

We have to turn away from it. We have to turn towards God. He is the One who washes, cleanses us. Repentant hearts are washed by the water of God’s grace.

We have to die to ourselves. We have to decide to live in the fullness of Christ (“for in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” Col. 2:9).

We have to put to death whatever earthly thing prohibits us from getting to God. Sin is, in effect, what separated us from God in the first place (Col. 3:5).

Because of sin, God must send His wrath. He is full of love, like a Father disciplines his child, so must the Lord discipline us. That is true love. And He is a just God. His wrath is an outplaying of His love and justice.

Sin leaves us ragged. Exhausted. Burdened. Trapped. Why not take the hand that Jesus offers? His arm is extended, ready to pull us out of the pit. He doesn’t roll around in the dirt (that is sin) with us. He lifts us out. He offers freedom.

God desires a repentant heart. He loves a repentant heart!

“Let noone caught in sin remain inside the guilt of secret shame, but fix our eyes upon the cross and run to Him who showed great love. Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death.”

Desires:

The flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing. Why do we succumb so easily to human desires?

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). Desires don’t have to be worldly! May the things of God be the desires of our hearts.

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed” (Ps. 20:4). When we delight solely in Him, our desires soon become His. When we strive after His heart and His character, our desires, in effect, become parallel with His. The Lord accomplishes things for His glory, so I say “Amen!” Let my plans succeed only if they are in accordance with your will, Lord.

What are we waiting for? Let’s run back to the Lord with repentant hearts.