I often thought, ‘Ah! This is what I should do,’ or, ‘I should get rid of my sinful nature,’ after listening to a sermon or watching an educational video. Within a few days, however, I would soon find myself leading the same lifestyle as before and feel a great deal of shame. Yet I would justify my action, thinking that I was at least keeping worship services. But I came back to my senses when I read this verse:
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” 1 Jn 3:4
I thought that lawlessness referred only to disobeying God’s commands such as the Passover or the Sabbath day. Since I kept God’s commands, I thought I was irrelevant to Jesus’ words, “Away from me, you who practice lawlessness” However, I was completely mistaken; I didn’t realize that it’s also a sin and lawlessness not to fix what I had to.
I could be one of those who practice lawlessness, to whom Jesus said, “Away from me!” Just the thought of it made my hair stand on end. It may not be easy to fix everything at once, but I will make steady efforts to change to please God.