READ: Romans 6:1-13Cleaning my home is not my preferred choice of activity most days, but I do enjoy the fruit of my labor once the task is done. I don’t mind the dusting or the vacuuming; it’s the endless prerequisite task of straightening that bores me. The other day, when I found a small puzzle piece, I was tempted to throw it away. I had bigger tasks to tackle and didn’t want to be sidetracked. I realized, though, that without that small piece the puzzle would remain forever incomplete, and the other pieces would soon follow the one into the trash.
Like throwing away an inconvenient, left-behind puzzle piece, we may find it tempting to brush aside what we define as a small issue of sin. We reason that its impact will be minimal because it seems inconsequential. The call for every believer, however, is to pursue character that reflects God’s own (Philippians 1:6,9-11). Reminding us of God’s love for us, the Song of Solomon reveals that we have a role in protecting our love relationship with Jesus: “Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!” (2:15).
When describing the death that sin brings, Romans 6:23 doesn’t differentiate between size or category. Any sin we willfully hang on to brings separation from God (Isaiah 59:2) and eventual death. In our spiritual lives, we can keep away the little foxes by: • Guarding our hearts. The enemy often uses our desires and temptations to open the door to sin (Proverbs 4:23). • Confessing our sins. Admitting our failings reminds us that in our own strength we miss the mark, but through God transformation is possible (Romans 6:7).
It remind me not to enjoy my sin since I've been set free from being slave of sin. Being a Christian since I was in Sunday School doesn't make me a 100 % holy person. Accepting Christ as my Saviour didn't guarantee that I will become an sin-invulnerable-person. The fact is I'm still doing sins. Fall down, stand up, fall again. Uniquely what makes me fall is "small" sin. I do know that sin is sin. There is no small, medium or large size as we usual order beverages in fast-food restaurants. What I called "small" sin is every action/behaviour that I think It-is-ok-and-normal, but It leads to sin. Something like anger, dirty-unused words, "white" lying, too-much-proud, self-centered, and several sins that become my daily friends.
It's not easy to control my eyes, mouth, not to mention my heart. Motivation beyond my action is one of them. I have learnt that every time I am far away from God, the sin will take control. When God doesn't exist, evil does. When God is "released" from my mind/heart, evil will take His place. When we "released" God ? It is the moment when our relationship with God is so broken, so rarely. When we do not enjoy our devotional time, when we do not have time to pray, evil will whisper. The point is our relationship with God, based on quality not quantity. When we enjoy Him so much, we will keep dealing with the small sins. So, when we reflect moment of sin, it must be moment where God doesn't become number one in our heart ; He is not primary, just second place.
Is it easy ? No, off course. This theory is simple to read but hard to act. Since we are "trapped" in our mortal flesh. We struggle. We defend. We win. Knowing our weakness points will be the first to-do-list.
Let's fight together,
Warrior of Christ.
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