Issue 20 - Day 4

Romans 7

Romans 7:18-21
18)  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19)  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20)  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21)  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

On an early morning visit to Smithfield market it is interesting to watch the people passing by. There are three sorts of people there at four in the morning. Of course the stall holders, who always seem to busy to serve anyone. Then there are those who are striding from stall to stall, full of purpose, checking the meat, asking prices to find that special bargain. Finally you see a few people in coats over their pyjamas who are clearly wondering why they got up so early, totally lost, and unfocused. They also haven’t realised that they look like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards!

Paul finishes up this chapter with a bit of a moan. “Oh wretched man that I am!”. Like the early morning shoppers at Smithfield we are all too often wondering through our lives, unfocused and not noticing the state we are in. As soon as we begin to focus on what God has done for us, and who he is we begin to see ourselves in that light, like Paul, oh wretched men we are! Every time we try to do the right thing we find ourselves doing the opposite. For every step towards God we seem to take three steps back. The mirror of God’s word, the “law” reveals the sin in us like the unwelcome mirror in the early hours of the morning revealing our physical state. what then do we do?
Serve the Lord with a glad heart, and rely on him for the spiritual clean-up.