Cash up front or pay over time?

Having recently performed the funeral service for a family friend, I had a chance to talk about life, salvation and God to folks who don't regularly attend church, which is almost everyone I know. I had the occasion to speak to one man who said he believed in God but it was clear he had been through tough times and was wrestling with his sin. He sounded as though he had given up on God or perhaps he though God had given up on him.

'I am who I am, if you don't like it, too bad, I can't change'.
I have heard this statement from many people. I have probably said it myself a time or two.

That my friends is a cop out.

I told the man just that. I said that if you don't wake up with the feeling that today I am going to be a tiny bit better person than I was yesterday, then what is the point? Most Christians look at the ultimate example of Jesus and then look at where they are in their life, no wonder they get discouraged. We are broken, imperfect people, the idea that we should become the person we want to be without the work, struggle and sacrifice it takes is not realistic. Being a better person and a better Christian isn't impossible. It takes time, time with God, time reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses and the desire to live day by day and decision by decision. Are there days we fail? You bet. Does that mean we shouldn't try? Not at all.

For some people the acceptance of Jesus Christ leads to an immediate conversion where the bad habits and old life are pushed far back into a small corner of that person where they can mostly be kept in check. They still struggle against their sinful nature and it is a life long struggle. For others, it is like the Grand Canyon, the steady drops of water over time carve out a new landscape. They can't point to a date or a time when they put that sin behind them, but they know it doesn't hold the power over them it once did.

I include myself in the last group. As much I want to stop all my sinful ways in one day and go forth and sin no more, I can't do it. I usually struggle for a long time and eventually that desire or bad habit gets weaker and God get stronger until that sin doesn't hold the power over me. While the list of broken habits and urges is very short and the list of sins I struggle with is quite long indeed, I am making headway. Small drips each day, over time make a difference. On the days I fail and fall back, no matter how hard they are, I know I can regroup and with God's help I can start back up that hill.

As a final thought I would like to say I have been a very poor Christian, the only time my friends hear me talk about Jesus is at weddings and now funerals. I am trying to fix that, I have invited a few of my friends to church this week. I will keep asking them to come, maybe its my turn to drip on them.