To be struggling is to be living

Comfort is a pursued virtue in most of our lives. We seek to avoid pain and displeasure as much as we possibly can. Anything the produces the least bit of discomfort in us must be rejected as bad. Christians also fall prey to this tendency. At least I do. It is very easy for me cozy up to my sinful behaviors because I presume that the ideal position is one of comfort or personal satisfaction. Whenever I have given in to overeating, lustful thoughts, or even impatience it is because that which I choose is immediately more comfortable and pleasurable.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that when I am struggling against sin, particularly the lusts of the flesh, I find myself asking "why is this so hard? God behaving well shouldn't be this difficult.  I must be doing something wrong." 

However, as I read the Bible, I think the struggle is a part of the normal experience. Fighting sin reminds us that we are alive. This morning, I was reading Romans 12 and verse 1 reads "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Present my body as a living sacrifice.  It seems to me that a sacrifice involves giving of oneself, even painfully giving.  This is spiritual worship. 

Hebrews 12:4 is even more bold: "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." I have never struggled against my sin to the point of shedding blood, so I have struggled hard enough.  To be struggling is to be living.  Never give up.  Never, never, never give up, as Winston Churchill said.