God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. (Rom. 1:28)
Expanded Passage: Romans 1:28–32
When caught in a crime, people tend to flee the scene. My friend Andy drove past a burglary in progress at a local bike shop at night. Several teenagers had broken the front window and were stealing expensive bicycles. He drove up to confront them, but the boys took off down the street on their new stolen wheels. While calling the police, Andy followed fast after the bikes. “There’s been a break-in. Several bikes were stolen. I’m in pursuit,” he told the dispatcher. The teens couldn’t outrace the car, so they ditched the bikes and ran away on foot, escaping into the darkness.
When confronted with our wrongs, we often have that same flight response. Adrenaline kicks in. Shame and fear hit. We want out of the light and into the cover of darkness. But soon we find out that we can’t outrun or hide from God, so we switch to another tactic—rationalizing. We create arguments for why our wrong action was sensible at the time. Yet God will not be deterred. The only options we have left are either to surrender to God (“I’m sorry, please forgive me”) or harden ourselves against him (“I don’t care what you think”).
God won’t force us to surrender. After we finish our joyride of sinful living, he will still be waiting for us to humbly return to him.
If you’re running from a wrong, try humbly asking for God’s grace.
Jarod Osborne is lead pastor of Pathway [Wesleyan] Church, in Warsaw, Indiana. He is the author of Jaded Faith (WPH).
© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
