So I went to Walmart yesterday to pick up some groceries. Specifically milk, cereal, Hotdogs, bread, and eggos(my revolving diet...lol.. :/). I'm starting to think that my being a college student for the last 4 years has ruined my establishment of healthy "Food Pyramid" inclusive diet. Triste Dia!
..Anyways, over the past few weeks I've made a conscious effort to avoid the candy aisle whenever I shop for groceries because of one particular product - Twizzlers. These Long, red, sometimes colorful, spirals of fructose and corn syrup have captured my taste buds and taxed my wallet on more than one occasion. But, if you ask me if I liked Twizzlers, I'd probably tell you no....Why? Because I Hate Twizzlers!!...lol.. I mean..I dislike them..I highly dislike them! I have legitimate reasons for it too.
First of all, twizzlers are only good for the first few seconds of chewing.... and second of all, they leave me with a strange aftertaste in my mouth that reminds me why hate them... until, of course, I eat another one and get that initial good feeling of being deliciously satisfied again. lol..Mmm mmm good! It's like a crazy spiral that I've found myself in.....mostly because, deep inside, I know I really don't like Twizzlers...I don't...I mean, they're probably not even good for me...but, every once in a while I'll stumble over to that candy ailse, buy a pack, and convince myselse otherwise. In fact, if the Twizzler bag was never ending, I would probably eat it all the time. then I would die..lol... because eating a never-ending bag of anything will kill you!
All that to say this. I've found my Twizzler addiction to be a shadow of my/our bent toward sin. Here's what I mean...and its hard to explain, but I'll try my best to make sense of my day dreaming during my quiet time earlier. The more I understand the person and work of Jesus Christ, the more I am convinced that there is something deep inside of me that daily stirs up a detestation, a hatred, and a distaste for sin. I know, inherently, that this is not of myself, but that it derives from something...no.... someone greater than I >>>>>>>>The Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11). On the other hand, there is something...well...someone, that wars against the deep detestation against sin that prompts me daily>>>>>Me. ME. Me. mE. me. ME!! I find that, like my distaste for twizzlers, I have an active distaste for the sin I so often entertain. An yes, like the twizzler aisle I try to avoid that specific "aisle" of my life where I know I'm weak. But no matter what I do, or try, or ignore, my bent toward sin will never be overcome by my avoidance of it, or my trying harder not to engage in it...
....At least, that's not what I've concluded.....
I may be wrong, but I've recently gotten the picture that the things we do - the lying, cheating, murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, the lust, the pride, adultery...these things...all of these things are symptoms of the condition we were born into called sin. (Romans 5:12-20)
See, all my life i looked at my struggles and fought with those struggles, defeating them, only to find out that they would show up again and again. lol...Then I read the boook of Romans this summer and repeatedly got punched in the face by Pauls' adamant reminders of where our salvation, justification and sanctification were really found - In the person and work of Jesus Christ... In what He already did, not in what we can now do. I had always been taught to do more, and try harder to earn what was already given - grace, which in and of itself (if we understand the weight of it) leads us to repentance, shows us that we are justified, and in the end compels, leads, and instructs us into Holiness. Tullian Tchividian says it this way, "The only way to deal with remaining sin long-term is to develop a distaste for it in light of the glorious riches we already possess in Christ."
Soo ....how do I stop eating twizzlers?? Do I continue to run from em? ..I guess I can...for a while. Do I just avoid them?? I can do that too....for a while. Or do I develop an appetite for something greater? Something satisfying to the soul!
David says it best when he writes, "O taste and see that the Lord is good.." Psalm 34:8
hmmm...I guess my hope is that we, as believers, daily turn our eyes upon Jesus, looking full in His wonderful face...watching, as the things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
..Anyways, over the past few weeks I've made a conscious effort to avoid the candy aisle whenever I shop for groceries because of one particular product - Twizzlers. These Long, red, sometimes colorful, spirals of fructose and corn syrup have captured my taste buds and taxed my wallet on more than one occasion. But, if you ask me if I liked Twizzlers, I'd probably tell you no....Why? Because I Hate Twizzlers!!...lol.. I mean..I dislike them..I highly dislike them! I have legitimate reasons for it too.
First of all, twizzlers are only good for the first few seconds of chewing.... and second of all, they leave me with a strange aftertaste in my mouth that reminds me why hate them... until, of course, I eat another one and get that initial good feeling of being deliciously satisfied again. lol..Mmm mmm good! It's like a crazy spiral that I've found myself in.....mostly because, deep inside, I know I really don't like Twizzlers...I don't...I mean, they're probably not even good for me...but, every once in a while I'll stumble over to that candy ailse, buy a pack, and convince myselse otherwise. In fact, if the Twizzler bag was never ending, I would probably eat it all the time. then I would die..lol... because eating a never-ending bag of anything will kill you!
All that to say this. I've found my Twizzler addiction to be a shadow of my/our bent toward sin. Here's what I mean...and its hard to explain, but I'll try my best to make sense of my day dreaming during my quiet time earlier. The more I understand the person and work of Jesus Christ, the more I am convinced that there is something deep inside of me that daily stirs up a detestation, a hatred, and a distaste for sin. I know, inherently, that this is not of myself, but that it derives from something...no.... someone greater than I >>>>>>>>The Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11). On the other hand, there is something...well...someone, that wars against the deep detestation against sin that prompts me daily>>>>>Me. ME. Me. mE. me. ME!! I find that, like my distaste for twizzlers, I have an active distaste for the sin I so often entertain. An yes, like the twizzler aisle I try to avoid that specific "aisle" of my life where I know I'm weak. But no matter what I do, or try, or ignore, my bent toward sin will never be overcome by my avoidance of it, or my trying harder not to engage in it.......At least, that's not what I've concluded.....
I may be wrong, but I've recently gotten the picture that the things we do - the lying, cheating, murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, the lust, the pride, adultery...these things...all of these things are symptoms of the condition we were born into called sin. (Romans 5:12-20)
See, all my life i looked at my struggles and fought with those struggles, defeating them, only to find out that they would show up again and again. lol...Then I read the boook of Romans this summer and repeatedly got punched in the face by Pauls' adamant reminders of where our salvation, justification and sanctification were really found - In the person and work of Jesus Christ... In what He already did, not in what we can now do. I had always been taught to do more, and try harder to earn what was already given - grace, which in and of itself (if we understand the weight of it) leads us to repentance, shows us that we are justified, and in the end compels, leads, and instructs us into Holiness. Tullian Tchividian says it this way, "The only way to deal with remaining sin long-term is to develop a distaste for it in light of the glorious riches we already possess in Christ."
Soo ....how do I stop eating twizzlers?? Do I continue to run from em? ..I guess I can...for a while. Do I just avoid them?? I can do that too....for a while. Or do I develop an appetite for something greater? Something satisfying to the soul!
David says it best when he writes, "O taste and see that the Lord is good.." Psalm 34:8
hmmm...I guess my hope is that we, as believers, daily turn our eyes upon Jesus, looking full in His wonderful face...watching, as the things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Hope it makes sense. if not....that's cool too. It's just my thoughts. Feel free to comment, criticize, or add too. Love you all
Selah
Craig Adderley
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