The Recovery Process

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.--Galatians 5:1 (NIV)


Today marks the end of the second week since I have come home from the hospital. The underlying infection seems to be gone, but I still have a long way to go in order to heal completely. My impatient nature tells me that I should be up and around by now. My wonderful husband reminds me that my body has been through quite a lot and it will take longer than I may have expected to return to a level of good health. The folks at my doctor's office tell me the same thing. They said that I didn't get sick overnight and I certainly won't recover overnight either.

In some ways, that's true of our sinful nature as well. Since our naturally sin is present even from when we are infants, by the time we reach an age where we are aware of our grievous shortcomings, we've got a lot of bad stuff to "unlearn." We didn't become entrenched in sin overnight and we certainly aren't purged of it overnight either.

I don't think that it is possible to live a life free from sin as long as we are here on the earth. It isn't until we cross over from this world into the next that we are truly blameless and righteous. In the meantime, we must strive daily to let ourselves "recover" so to speak, from our sin. Christ has set us free from sin, but he hasn't set us free from our human nature. We will continue to struggle with temptation to sin. There are times when we will still give in to our sinful desires.

The good news is that for those of us who have freedom in Christ, we are given an extra boost of strength. Just like the antibiotics I take help ward off future infections, a life lived with Christ as the center can strengthen us against becoming burdened by overwhelming sin. Still, this is an ongoing process. I cannot take just one pill and expect to be healthy for the rest of my life. Nor can I make a one-time commitment to living for Jesus and then never consciously make an effort to do so.

So many things in life are an ongoing process. Living for Jesus and standing firmly on the hope He gives me is worth the effort. I know I can't become utterly blameless overnight. I find a great deal of peace and freedom in knowing that God doesn't expect that of me. He expects daily effort, and that's what I can give.