ON BEING CONSISTENT

One of the most imposing challenges of the Christian life is the ability to be consistent.  In many ways, we are all walking paradoxes.  There are often strange contradictions in our Christian behavior as well as our Christian conversation.  We study God's word and we try to hide His laws in our hearts, yet somehow we are never able to fully perform in keeping with His will.  Our spiritual ambition is to be Godly, but we often reflect that which is Satanic.  We tend to live in the tension of what we know is right and the reality of what we actually do.  Our conduct is characterized more by our selfish inclinations than by the sacrificial love of Jesus.  We want to be servants, but we act like masters.  We love the Lord, yet we despise some of His people.  We search the scriptures for eternal life and then use them as a vehicle for debate.  We want God to be patient with us in our iniquity, yet we harshly judge others who equally qualify for His grace.

The truth of the matter is we are inconsistent creatures struggling to be stable and compatible with God's will for our lives.  Even though, at times, our Christian talk and our Christian walk are not the same, there is hope.  The fact that we struggle to be consistent is evidence of the Holy Spirit's activity.  There is hope in the sincerity of our repentance as we share our frustrations with God.

Our Lord Jesus understands what it is like to be human and thus He longs to lead us "in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."  Our Lord does not condone our fickle faith, but He does encourage us to believe that we can be more than what we have been.  Sometimes we feel like crying with the apostle Paul, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"  His answer and our answer is, "through Jesus Christ our Lord."  To confess our inconsistencies is to discover divine resources and forgiveness.