We Have Met the Enemy and…

Pogo, Copyright Walt Kelly

In preparation for several books I have in the works (the next Miller’s Creek novel, a story I’m co-authoring with my youngest sister, and a few Bible study books), I’ve been doing some pretty heavy reading, including Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. In addition, part of my Bible study this morning was in Psalm 78, where David recounts the miraculous deliverance of God’s people and their resulting rebellion. Both of these sources come to the same conclusion: We are our own worst enemy.

The Enemy: Us

Most humans are born with an innate sense of knowing right from wrong, but we repeatedly do wrong even when we know better. Even the best of people are infected with this virus. And even those who deny the existence of God must surely realize the truth of the human genetic disposition toward wrongdoing. It explains crime and wars and unspeakable atrocities. The enemy lies within each of us.

Paul sums it up best:

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.I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ~Romans 7:15-24 (NASB)

What We Need

We understand on a visceral level Paul’s last question. Where can we find deliverance from our tendency toward evil behavior? How can we stop being our own worst enemy? We desperately need a Savior!

The Rest of the Story

Radio commentator Paul Harvey was known worldwide for his “Rest of the Story” series, in which he would tell a story that seemed without hope. But he would always end with a short snippet–the rest of the story–that brought everything out right in the end.

Our story of the evil that exists within each of us isn’t without hope either. There is a Savior. Here’s the rest of the apostle Paul’s story–the rest of our story if we so choose:

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ~Romans 7:25a (NASB)

If we allow Him access to our lives, God can rewrite our life stories–in spite of our sin–and turn them around for our good and His glory.

The post We Have Met the Enemy and… appeared first on Cathy Bryant.