NOTES for Rom 7:14-25
Are you satisfied with your life? Are you satisfied with what is happening around you? And within you? Do you think everything is in order? Probably not everything. And thank God! In fact, it is very useful to ask ourselves such questions from time to time, so that we do not stand still. For if everything satisfies us, we will gradually cease striving for anything at all. Of course, we can settle for what we have—whether we regard that level as high or low—but what will that give us? Stability? Not at all. Quite the opposite. No, this is not what the Lord wants from us. Of course, He knows perfectly well what is happening in our souls; He sees the whole “dynamic.” But He always wants more for us and expects more from us. And if we find the situation Paul describes in the words, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate,” rather sad, for God it is the starting point for working with us. Yes, it is not good when convictions and faith accord poorly with behavior, but God is able to use this straw to pull us out of our “dividedness” and make us His true children—whole persons who believe in Him, love Him, and obey Him.