I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it;
I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.(Romans 7:18-19 The Message)
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A pond. Rocks piled on the bank. A little boy.
He looks at the rock in his hand and knows he should not, but inevitably, the sound:
Kerplunk!
A second rock hitting the water.
Kerplunk!
His mother enters the scene. “Didn’t I tell you NOT to toss rocks into the pond!” The boy sheepishly lowers his head, knowing he has disobeyed his mom. He looks down at the rock in his hand and away from his mother’s eyes. His hand does what he knows he should not do.
Inevitably, the sound:
Kerplunk!
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17-20 For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. 21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. (Romans 7:17-23 The Message)
We know we should not—yet we think the thought: Kerplunk!
We know we must not–but we speak the words: Kerplunk!
We know better—yet we commit the act: Kerplunk!
We know we should–but we do not: Kerplunk!
Are we any different from the boy who disobeys his mother, not really wanting to, but being a little boy, drawn to what a young child will do? And we adults, with our human weaknesses, think, speak, and do what we know we should not and do not do what we know we should. In Romans, Paul speaks of this dilemma, recognizing that he needs Jesus. Alone, he cannot keep from sin. Jesus took his sins and ours to the cross, that we might have the grace of God to help us in the battle against our own weakness to sin.
24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? 25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (Romans 7:24-25.The Message)
Jesus is our answer when we are at the end of our rope.
He is the Lifeline. He is the Light. He is the Way.
I can do all things in Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
(Sharon G. Tate blog 04/18/21) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word