We buy new stuff, set new goals and try new things. We try to turn over a “new page”, start a “new chapter in life” and try to become a “new me”. In all of this new stuff, we obviously have to let go of some of the old stuff. We need to quit certain things. So when is it okay to quit? And what should we quit?
I hope you and I have enough common sense that when we start something new it is actually something helpful. The truth is that is not always the case. Sometimes we start new things that hurt, distract or encumber. So here is something you and I need to fiercely hold to in all of life:
“Start new things according to what is true and helpful, quit things that are untrue and harmful”
It’s always okay to quit lying, cheating, and stealing. It’s always okay to quit lusting, envying and boasting. It is not only okay but necessary for you and me to quit sinning and pursuing selfish ambitions. God’s mercies are new every morning (all thanks and praise be to His holy name!). It is so wonderful to know that we can quit the harmful, sinful things of the past and that we can begin afresh and anew the helpful, life-giving things which God is calling us to.
I do however want to give you a warning.
You and I can’t ever quit pursuing God. We can’t quit learning about love. We can never stop pursuing holiness. There are a myriad of obstacles we will come up against and a thousand reasons to quit, but we simply can’t.
- After exactly how many failures should we quit trying to love like Jesus?
- After how many sins should we stop pursuing holiness?
- After how many mistakes should we give up on praying to God?
- After how many shortcomings should we stop walking with God towards Christlikeness and heaven?
You know immediately the answer to those questions: there is no number, no point at which we should quit those things! The enemy, the devil, would love to say you have done too much, gone too far, failed too much, come up too short, so you might as well quit. But you and I can’t and won’t!
Life is too short, eternity is too long and God’s love is too precious to ever quit running after what really matters.
Keep persevering. Keep calling out to God. Keep pressing into God’s loving embrace. Even with all our shortcomings, God loves us and invites us to take another step with Him!
Hebrews 12:1b Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Pastor Michael Johnson 