Rot in the Middle?

18 May Rot in the Middle?

Read 1 John 1:5-10

Thought for the Day: I’m not perfect and I need Jesus!

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a smoothie and split it with my daughter. After rummaging through my fridge, I found an apple, a few strawberries, and some frozen blueberries. If I had been simply feeding myself, I would have thrown all of the fruit into a blender, added almond milk, and called it a day. But – whenever I feed my daughter fruit, I have learned to not simply go by outward appearances. Instead, I grabbed a knife and cut open the apple. It’s a good thing that I did because the apple was completely rotten inside! A few minutes later, Ruby had a strawberry-blueberry smoothie and I had avoided a major Dad Fail.

In our Christian lives, it is easy to focus on the outside instead of acknowledging rot in the middle. Throughout the centuries, Christians have too often made the mistake of saying ‘I’m good’ even when experiencing inner turmoil. Rather than being honest and seeking the Holy Spirit’s direction, it is easy to instead put on a false face and mistakenly believe that this is ‘having faith’. However, as John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Rather than saying ‘I’m good’, Christians can start each day by saying ‘I know I need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to have a good day today.” 

We all experience times where our outward and inward selves do not line up. Rather than continuing to practice self-deception, today is a great day to wake up. None of us can ever get to a point where we could truthfully say ‘I’m good’ without Jesus. Instead of settling for rot in the middle of our spiritual lives, let’s learn to see that it is only by following Him that we can ever say ‘I’m good’!

In Christ,

Pastor David