In Over Our Heads

Sin is as deep in our hearts as dirt is in our homes.  See, the one thing we don’t want to believe is that we’re utterly dependent on God.  – Tim Keller

Erma Bombeck, late humorist, wrote, “You know, my life is dominated by dirt. At this end of the house there’s dirt. There’s dirt in the bathroom, dirt on the plates in the kitchen, dirt in the rug. So I work to get rid of the dirt, and by the time I get to the other end of the house, the first end of the house is dirty again. It never ends. And in the end, after all of these years of struggling against dirt… what do I get? Six feet of dirt.” When applied to sin, this humorous, yet revelatory, statement shows us just how deep sin runs in our hearts. Change the places of the home to peoples’ names in our lives, and we begin to...
see how every relationship is affected. We were created in God’s image. We were built to reflect and relate to God. We were not made to be alone. Unfortunately, sin acts like a malignant tumor eating away at our ability to conduct any relationship. Every one of our relationships (with God, ourselves, others, and even nature and the world) has been decimated by sin. The original sin from Adam and Eve is part of all of our lives. We acknowledge the heart, breadth and depth of our sin, but all hope is not lost. Sin doesn’t win. God is still at work!

READ and THINK… What does the Bible say?

In this chapter, Matthew captures Jesus’ famous teaching called the Sermon on the Mount. A great deal of our guidelines for acting Christ-like in our relationships come from this. Although Jesus is teaching about adultery in the verses leading up to this one, he reveals how deep all of our sin is with these words.

Question: What does this verse tell us about the depth of our sin, and what our tolerance should be for it in our lives?

Matthew 5:29 (New Living Translation)

So if your eye — even your good eye — causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Answer:

God had just finished creating the earth, plants and animals. Then He created human beings. He built us to reign over, and have relationship with, the things He had only just finished creating. He gave us the task of handling these gifts for His Glory.

Question: How did God equip us to take on the big task of reigning over and having relationships with the rest of His creation?

Genesis 1:27 (New Living Translation)

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Answer:

LIVE… What will you do now?

Read Matthew 5:29 again. What current sin in your life is causing you the most grief and consequences in your relationships? Are you willing to gouge it out, throw it away, give it up? What tangible steps can you make towards that in your life.

When God said He created us in His image, He didn’t mean we are exactly like Him, especially in a physical sense. We can demonstrate His characteristics like love, patience, kindness, forgiveness and faithfulness. Which of these characteristics do you need to work on the most and why? How would it improve the relationships in your life?

PRAY…God, what do you want me to know and do? 

Thank God for sending Jesus to die for our sins. We are so much more dependent on Him than we know. Ask for the strength and courage to rid your life of sin. Ask God to help you to grow in becoming more Christ-like, reflecting His glory more and more each day. Thank Him for His grace and forgiveness.