We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 9For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
(Romans 7:14-20)
Paul is telling us in this passage, that doing good can be very difficult. Sometimes the more we try to do what is good, the easier it is to do what is bad. So, some may ask, what is the point? I think that the point that Paul is trying to make is that in trying to "go it alone" without God's help, we will fail. As long as we are aware of this, all is not lost. God is always there to give us strength when we are at our weakest. But there has to be that awareness. We have to be aware that we are truely helpless without God. In our pride we think that we are in control of our lives. But our sense of awareness tells us that we are not.
I think that God is asking all of us to develop a sense of awareness so that we first of all, know when we have failed to do what is good, and second, to know that we must rely on God's assistance to help us in our weakness. Perfection is not what God wants from us. God wants us to have an awareness that we are always in need of his assistance.
I think that we can always rest in the knowledge that God will be there for us in our time of need.
Peace and love,
Sue
"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)
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