It only follows

The sad picture of so many Christians struggling to be like Christ in their own strength, and always falling short of the standard, or of others who have given up and are living lives of pride, greed, and self-indulgence, claiming Christ’s forgiveness, is not only sad; it is tragic. It is tragic because it does not need to be the case. If the full gospel were understood and preached with clarity there could be a new day of righteousness dawning about us instead of a deepening twilight of unbelief and cynicism.— Called to be Holy, page 164

<idle musing>
What more can we expect? It is the logical conclusion of self-effort. And it is the sad state of most Christians that I talk to. Struggle, fail, rededicate, try harder, fail, struggle, fail, rededicate, ad infinitum. Or, give up and say "Christians are perfect, just forgiven"—a heresy if ever there was one! As if God hates sin in unbelievers but ignores it in believers—which is a misnomer. What are they believing, anyway? If Jesus came to save us from sin—not just sins, but the concept of sin, i.e., sinning—and they don't really believe it, then what are they saved from? Hell?

That's a pretty pathetic gospel. And a pretty small god. As if sin is bigger than God! Ah well, time to go back to repairing floors in the cabins—and praying for God's deliverance from unbelief for myself and others.

By the way, it's National Day of Prayer. May we truly pray and not just have rah-rah rallies that pump us up and reassure us we are right and everybody else is wrong, so let's bomb them all to pieces...
</idle musing>