Tongue twisters

Tongue twisters: we all know some, and we all think we can say them when we hear them. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Betty Botter...and something about bitter butter. Unique New York. She sells sea shells by the sea shore. And one that is far less nonsensical:

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." (Romans 7:15)

The Bible is filled with words that baffle me, remind me of how awesome God is, humble me, and can suddenly hit me with new meaning even after hearing them over and over. It contains beautiful exhortations such as "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1) It has eloquent poetry like "We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

On the other hand, Paul seems to almost stumble over his words in Romans 7. "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing." Now this sounds like something I would write! The frustration of being human. The way I can think about God and have sinful thoughts at virtually the same moment. (How does that work? I usually have trouble walking in a straight line...) I am continually amazed by my struggle with my humanness. I mean well, but it just doesn't work out. It angers me that I can be as indifferent as I am sometimes, but it happens without my even thinking about it. I try my best to do things perfectly, but I fail. There are times I simply screw up.

These verses comfort me in a such a way that it seems I am constantly reciting them in my head. Unfortuately, it is not because I have answers to this problem. Rather, the comfort comes from knowing that God has provided an answer. "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." (Romans 8:1)

There is a song that illustrates this beautifully. It's called "You Did That for Me" by Sara Groves. I "borrowed" the cd from my roommate for um, like a year, and I still wish it would have "accidentally" "fallen" into a box when I moved out. How much simpler can it get? I don't have to beat myself up over what I've done or not done, because it's all been done for me. This song's message brought me peace, on nights like tonight, when I do not understand what I do.