ELDER: Seek the power to consistently follow Jesus

Last Sunday I told our congregation to ignore the clock in the back of the sanctuary. No, it wasn’t because I was planning on preaching a long sermon or because I felt the need to encourage some antsy people to quit focusing on how much time was left before they could head out to lunch. My suggestion had resulted from the fact that the clock was malfunctioning and was showing the wrong time. Throughout the morning I had noticed its inconsistency. It hadn’t completely stopped working yet. It ran a while, then the hands stayed in one spot for about an hour, then they started moving normally again. I recognized the sign of the battery running out, but didn’t have a replacement on hand. It reminded me that a clock doesn’t have to completely shut down in order to be ineffective. If it’s inconsistent and just running some of the time, you still can’t rely on what it says.

Inconsistency is a fault we should pay attention to as followers of Jesus. I’m not referring to those who have turned away from their faith or who have stopped trying to do God’s will. I’m talking about believers who walk with the Lord at times, but who just as often falter in their attempt to “keep on ticking” for Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, we’re all going to stumble on occasion. However, if we find ourselves consistently being inconsistent, we ought to be concerned. A constant stopping and starting isn’t the picture the Bible paints of the spiritual journey of a Christian. Some people like to point to Paul’s description in Romans 7 of someone’s struggles and inability to do God’s will as evidence that believers can’t help but live life on a spiritual rollercoaster. But if you read through the end of the chapter and into the next one, it’s clear that there can be deliverance from such an up-and-down journey. We can and should consistently walk according to the Spirit, which includes consistent obedience and victory over sin in our lives. We are “more than conquerors” through Christ.