Little Pieces

read›
Romans 6:1-13
You also should consider
yourselves to be dead
to the power of sin and
alive to God through
Christ Jesus (v.11).
 

Cleaning my home is not my preferred choice
of activity most days, but I do enjoy the fruit of
my labor once the task is done. I don’t mind the
dusting or the vacuuming; it’s the endless prerequisite
task of straightening that bores me. The other day, when
I found a small puzzle piece, I was tempted to throw it
away. I had bigger tasks to tackle and didn’t want to be
sidetracked. I realized, though, that without that small
piece the puzzle would remain forever incomplete, and
the other pieces would soon follow the one into the trash.

Like throwing away an inconvenient, left-behind puzzle
piece, we may find it tempting to brush aside what we
define as a small issue of sin. We reason that its impact will
be minimal because it seems inconsequential. The call for
every believer, however, is to pursue character that reflects
God’s own (Philippians 1:6,9-11). Reminding us of God’s
love for us, the Song of Solomon reveals that we have a
role in protecting our love relationship with Jesus: “Catch
all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard
of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!” (2:15).

When describing the death that sin brings, Romans
6:23 doesn’t differentiate between size or category. Any
sin we willfully hang on to brings separation from God
(Isaiah 59:2) and eventual death. In our spiritual lives,
we can keep away the little foxes by:
• Guarding our hearts. The enemy often uses our
desires and temptations to open the door to sin (Proverbs 4:23).
• Confessing our sins. Admitting our failings reminds us that in our own strength
we miss the mark, but through God transformation is possible (Romans 6:7).
Keep dealing with the small sins in your life, before they lead to something
much larger and more costly. —Regina Franklin

more›
• Psalm 32:2
• Hebrews 12:1
• Revelation 3:19

next›
What sins have you
been excusing as “not
a big deal”? Why must
repentance be an action
as well as a posture of
our hearts?