We all struggle with sin in our lives, and each of us needs deliverance from various attachments and fears that keep us from the deeper life… The problem is within ourselves, that is, the contradiction of heart we experience in our double-mindedness, our ambivalence, and our unbelief (Jer. 17:9). We may recite the Shema every day and say that we love God with all our being, but in the ordinary moments of daily life we are drawn to other concerns, alien affections, other “gods.” Indeed, whatever matters most to us, whatever consumes our attention, time, resources, and our interest, is something we “worship,” that is, something we esteem as worthy and valuable…
People necessarily value things, and therefore every person alive is a “worshiper” (i.e., a person who finds “worth” in something). This applies equally to a devout atheist or pious skeptic as much as it does a deeply religious person… The question that matters, however, is what is your ultimate concern? What do you really want? Only when we begin to understand what draws and attracts us can we begin to discern what we really need. Therefore we must first acknowledge our false worship, our radical selfishness, and our sundry attachments in order to be set free. We must confess the truth that we are slaves.
Pride blinds us to the truth of our sickness of heart, persuading us to deny our problems, to cover them up, and to try harder and harder to “control” ourselves. This is a spiritual dead-end, a vicious circle, the “law of sin and death.” We are set free, however, when we die to ourselves, that is, when we surrender to the love of God and receive the miracle of promised deliverance. Since we are powerless to change ourselves, to reform our lower nature, and to be healed by our own best efforts, we must abandon our “religion” and rely entirely upon the God for the power to heal. This is an ongoing venture: We die daily; we take up the cross daily, we walk with a limp from our inner struggle, and we cling to God alone show us the way and to guide our steps. Beloved, we have been crucified with Messiah and the old nature has lost its power over us; we are alive by the miracle of God’s power. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25).
