[Christ] has appeared once for all…to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 9:26
The Answer to The Problem
An office manager working at his desk had a ballpoint pen that was leaking ink. To deal with the problem, the man decided to purchase a large supply of white gloves he could wear to protect his hands. Every month or so, he had to take his stained gloves to the dry cleaners to remove the ink. That wasn't all. About once a week some of the ink would get on his shirt and suit just before an important appointment and he would have to reschedule. To top it off, his leaky pen would regularly deface legal documents he had to sign. When that happened, he had to spend extra time and money preparing another set of documents.
A far-fetched story? Of course. After all, why go through all that trouble dealing with the symptoms of the problem instead of addressing the problem itself? The problem is a leaky pen. The answer is a new pen.
But it's one thing to recognize the foolish thinking of an office manager with a leaky pen. It's quite another to recognize the foolish thinking in our own lives.
Think about this for a moment. Isn't it true that it's easy for me to busy myself with the symptoms of a problem instead of addressing the problem itself? Let's see: I'm always stressed. I'm always dissatisfied. I'm always resentful of the wonderful lives other people seem to have. I'm haunted by my past failures. I'm afraid about my future.
How do I deal with this? An extra drink or two at night? A little more bitterness in my gossip? Some extra sarcasm? Buying myself a feel-good gift with my credit card? Turning up the volume in my life so that it's too loud for me to think?
That's not addressing the problem. The leaky pen in my life is sin–my sinful attitude towards myself, my sinful attitude towards others, my sinful attitude towards God. But the answer to my problem is not within me. The answer is Jesus Christ.
Come to the Savior in repentance. Be forgiven. Be washed in his blood. Be renewed in his Word. Be refreshed in his Spirit. When that happens, the symptoms of sin will no longer be in command. Jesus will.
Prayer:
Forgive me, Lord Jesus, for all the times I have busied myself with the symptoms of my sin instead of looking to you as my Answer. Refresh me in yourself. Amen.
This devotion was selected from the Daily Devotion archive.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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