A man is first startled by sin; then it becomes pleasing, then easy, then delightful, then frequent, then habitual, then confirmed. The man is impenitent, then obstinate, and then he is damned.
Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667)
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
~ Psalm 1
RUN beloved!!!! Touch not the unclean thing!
Do not even slow for a moment to walk and listen to the words of the world. Its counsel is but wickedness veiled as thoughtful debate and concern. As the Yiddish proverb goes, “A scab is a scab, even if you smear honey on it.”
Do not dare stop and stand to watch as others drive their lives off the cliffs of their own making. It is not interesting. We will only move in for a closer look and even risk going over the same precipice.
And oh dear friend, please do not even dare sit down with those who have given up even trying to believe. We will not help them. We will – make no mistake – be corrupted by their company.
Oh beloved, run the race with endurance. Run like you are on fire. For He has given us everything we need to finish the race.
He is our Goal.
He is The Way.
He is our Blessed Hope.
He is The Gate.
He is our Counselor.
He is our Strength.
He is our Brother.
He is our Life.
He is The Truth.
He is our Savior.
He is our Riches.
He is our Love.
He is our King.
It is a profound mystery as to why we would ever want anything other than Him once we know Who He Is. But, as profound a mystery as it is, it is profoundly true that any true believer can take our eyes off of Him. And when we do, we are most surely about to cause a mess.
Of course, He is the Solution. In falling, He is our Help. In weakness, He is our Strength. Just get up and run towards the Light. He has no expectation other than this. And as we run in His strength, we get lighter on our feet and our traction on the path becomes more sure. Each planting of our feet gains purchase in the upward call.
And in a twist of Kingdom math, it is those who travel with the most purpose and lightness of being towards Him, who become most established. It is as if in resting in Him fully, we find the energy for movement towards Him, and in moving towards Him, we establish more connection and rest. This is perhaps more of a mystery than our depravity, but in this mystery we find the strength to overcome the original sin-conundrum of our existence.
Said simply: sin is a big deal. Run on by it like a man on fire. Don’t even look to the left or to the right. Just run towards Jesus. He will bring you through safely. We will make it home.
Really beloved. Just run.
Fix your thought more on the God you desire than on the sin you abhor.
~Walter Hilton (1340-1396)
