Is He Really Lord?

I heard some words today that may not be incredibly novel or profound, but they nonetheless gave me a whole new way to frame my struggles with sin.

Do you have some particularly nagging, bothersome sin that just won't go away? One that you perhaps even secretly enjoy indulging, even though you know you'll live to regret and repent? I have to confess that I do not truly hate my sin...my flesh wars constantly with my spirit (or rather, with the Holy Spirit living within me), to the extent that at times it just wears on me and I wonder whether I'm really cut out for this whole Christian thing.

The lies that the evil one hisses, they are destructive.

So anyway, there's this tug of war going on between my sinful nature and the new nature that has been reborn in Christ. At least for me there is. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get the sinful nature to just DIE. The Scriptures tell us to put to death what is earthly in us (Colossians 3:5), but just how do we do this? How, practically, can I deny what comes naturally to my sinful heart?

Today I heard these simple words (or something like them): Who is Lord of your life? Is Jesus greater than your sin? Then will He bow to your sinful desires, or will they bow to Him?

Wow...when I conceptualized my sin in these terms, I suddenly felt empowered to kick them all right in the hiney! I often think of my sin as this hugely powerful thing, something I will be struggling with for years to come...but just visualizing Jesus as reigning supreme over my life, including my sin, helped me to realize the simple truth that he is Lord over my sin. Duh, right?

I am slow, I know.

But the next time I am faced with a really hideous impulse to, like, sin or something, I will dive into Christ's promises and exalt Him as Lord over my life and over my sinful nature. It is not I who have the power to choose between sin and righteousness, but it is I who have the privilege of humbling myself in the face of sin to acknowledge His lordship over it (and me!). Sin no longer has power over me if it is subject to the authority of Christ. If I picture my sin literally bowing before Him, then how can I engage in it? Not that this is a shortcut to total sanctification, but I think it has the potential to be a huge weapon in my spiritual arsenal.

So that's what they meant by the whole "free from the bondage of sin" thing.

Just thought I'd share.