Let’s say I show up 15 minutes late for a job I’m responsible for. I have to rush to complete the work before the others begin to arrive. I could’ve done better.
Or maybe I plan to begin eating better, drinking less, praying more … starting tomorrow (the day that never comes). I’ll get my act together “someday.”
Here’s the real problem: It’s not that I don’t know what to do … it’s that I don’t do what I know. I’m sometimes amazed by the seeming stupidity of my words and actions.
In Romans chapter seven Paul gives us an apt description of how we get hammered by deception:
The Conflict of Two Natures
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
Romans 7:14-20 nasb
Does that mean I should I just say “The devil made me do it” and head to the bar? Does my seeming inability to control myself, manage myself, fix myself … do my failures give me license to do anything I want. Should I “eat, drink, and be merry” … since tomorrow I may die?
Paul goes on to first assure us God isn’t going to squash us like bugs for our disobedience and error (Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus – Romans 8:1) then to give us insight to the mystery:
There’s a difference between the “flesh” and “Spirit.” One is mortal, the other eternal. One is bound for death, the other gives life.
Not only that, but Paul gives us a key to the battle:
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
romans 8:5-8 nasb
Where is my mind set? Am I trusting God for my deliverance or trying to do it on my own? Do I really think I can ever be good enough? Or am I like a drowning man flailing at the water … refusing to relax, lie back, and float?
The Someday Plan begins by stopping
We stop to get present to God. We stop just as we are. We stop to listen.
The Someday Plan isn’t a new religion or denomination. It’s one beggar showing other beggars where he is finding bread. It’s a discipleship movement for believers who want to go deeper. It’s a path towards spiritual formation.
Paul gives us plenty to consider in chapters seven and eight of Romans. I’ve only stirred the waters. And I by no means claim to fully understand what he is teaching here. Your comments are more than welcome.
Let’s talk about it.
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