The One About Failed Resolutions and the Mercy of God

Dear West Family

We are three weeks into the New Year which means that I have broken some of my resolutions. Actually, I have broken most of my resolutions.

I have broken all of my resolutions. 

Next year though, just you wait and see. I am going to be a whole new person. A person who does Iron Man races and doesn’t just watch Ironman movies. I am going to learn Spanish and maybe some Mandarin, and I am going to write poetry, and memorize Scripture, and cook pastries, and journal regularly (maybe even in Spanish), and avoid carbs (even after cooking said pastries), and drink gallons of water, and stay off coffee, and … well … you get the point. I have aspirations to be a much better version of myself, a version that is considerably more godly and more disciplined than my current iteration. In the meanwhile, though, I will either just pretend, or I will push into the incredible and scandalous grace that is available for a sinner like me.

The truth is that I don’t just fail to live up to my foolhardy resolutions each year. I don’t just sin through failing to do the things that I know I ought to do. I also fail by continually doing things that I know I ought not to do. I am a rebel in omission and commission, and a fiercely accomplished one at that, with 43 years of experience, which has refined my rebellion into something of a fine art. It can be a terribly frustrating thing to be a human being, in my experience. 

What should we do with the unrelenting resistance of our fallen natures? What do we turn to when we sin and fail, again and again and again? The Apostle Paul had some remarkable encouragement for us in his first letter to young Timothy and it struck me afresh this week. He said:

15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.

- 1 Ti 1:15–16. (CSB)

There are a few amazing truths hidden in Paul’s confidence in this text. 

Firstly, he is free to view himself in truthful humility as a sinner, because sinners are the exact sorts of people that Christ came into the world to save. This frees Paul up to not have to pretend to be any better than he really is. It isn’t self-hatred and guilt which causes him to label himself as the worst of sinners, but rather it is gospel-fueled reality and humility that creates a safe space for him with the freedom to not pretend. 

Secondly, Paul is persuaded that God has more mercy than Paul has sin. The depth of his sin is never deep enough to reach the bottom of the barrels containing heaven’s unending mercies. This frees Paul up to display confidence in the gospel by never having to shy away from repentance and confession through a belief that God somehow tired of giving mercy. Friends, He doesn’t tire of giving you mercy.

Lastly, Paul views his own life as a display of God’s patience and grace. If ever he was tempted to pretense then, he would actually undermine the reputation of God. This frees him up to live without shame and free from the temptation to hide, knowing that a covering up of his sin actually served as a diminishing of God’s extravagant patience. Friends, when we allow us to encounter us as we really are, as forgiven sinners, then we make much of God’s reputation for patience and grace.

And so, maybe if there is a resolution that it worth anything this year it is this one, that we would be a people who are honest about our own sin and failing because we are a people who are certain of the mercy and grace of God, and that this would allow us to live in joyful and intimate community with each other, where we get to know each other as we really are, and not just as we hope to be.

One more thing. Jon Foreman sings our featured song of the week. It is a great prayer.

Jon Foreman - Your Love Is Strong (Official Live Video)

See you Sunday,
Ross