Giving up

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22

I was talking with a brother recently about another brother who consistently has difficulty synchronizing his heart and his actions. It is as if he’s mired in that Romans 7:15 “do loop” that Paul claimed, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. I have that problem too, more often than I wish were true.

Some brothers, because of a host of reasons, have greater difficulty fighting the urge to not do what we hate. Whether because of a physical or mental addiction, the reaction to a life of externally caused pain, or the sum total of the entire life crisis which surrounds us, we can get painfully stuck in sinful behavior.

So how long do I put up with this? How many times to I accept the excuses, the denial, and the lies? When is it acceptable to just give up? I remind myself, Jesus didn’t give up, he continued to forgive the sinners even when they hung him on a cross and killed him. Matt Redman’s song, “You Never Let Go” reminds me of Gods enduring faith in me and how I cannot let go of that. It also convicts me to continually share that hope with my brothers. In Luke 18:1 Christ tells a parable to illustrate how I should “pray and not give up.” So I won’t, ever.

Bless you brothers, live this day in peace, in His Word.