It’s often said, especially in terms of relationships, that opposites attract. Have you ever noticed that? Look at the relationships you are in. Who do you gravitate to? Friend relationships. Marriage relationships. You can probably quickly identify a relationship in your life where you gravitate to an opposite. Introvert to extrovert. Man to woman. Quiet to loud. Yin to yang. Peace to war. Giver to taker. Right to left. Rainer to shiner. You get it.
Jesus is all about opposites attracting. Jesus is perfect. We are not. Jesus was sinless. We are sinfull. He is kind and gentle. We are harsh and abrasive. But you know the opposite of accept is reject and the opposite of reject is accept. In order to be a follower of Christ opposites must attract– to have eternal life, you must accept Jesus and reject sin. You see, Jesus is perfect. He never sinned and He is the cure to our sin. In order to receive that cure, we must do two things – accept and reject. Accept Jesus as the Son of God and reject our sin.
Accepting Jesus is more than just believing. It’s about acknowledging Him as the Son of God. It’s about recognizing that He came to earth, not to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. The Holy Lamb of God who takes away our sins. Removes them. Erases them. Purifies us. Restores us. Changes us. This is something we simply cannot do for ourselves. If we accept Him, we must reject sin.
Have you accepted and rejected? It sounds so easy yet so complicated.
Galatians 5:16-17 say:
Live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.
Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
The old sinful nature loves to do evil,
which is just the opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants.
And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.
These two forces are constantly fighting each other,
and your choices are never free from conflict.
Accept the gift of salvation from Jesus, then do the opposite. Reject the sin in your life. I am a sinner. A full-blown sinner. I don’t want to be, but I am — another opposite. Paul also struggled with opposites:
I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful
nature is concerned.
No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right.
I want to, but I can’t.
When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong,
I do it anyway…
It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right,
I inevitably do what is wrong.
I love God’s law with all my heart.
But there is another law at work within me that I am at war with my mind.
This law wins the right and makes me a slave to the sin that is
still within me.
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
So you see how it is:
In my mind, I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Romans 7:18-25
Do you ever feel that way? You want to do right but you do the opposite? You don’t want to, but you do. You are not alone. We can all be Paul’s or Paulette’s!
The marvelous beauty in this is found in verse 25. Jesus Christ is the answer! On the cross Jesus said you are forgiven! Go and sin no more. Out with the old – in with the new. Isn’t that refreshing? I look at my life and I am so grateful that I am accepted because I rejected. It says the Holy Spirit gives us desires, which take away our sin. Another opposite. If we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives there is life! If we allow our sinful nature to control our lives there is death! Another opposite.
Accepting and then rejecting does not mean we are perfect, it does not mean that we will not sin. It does mean that we will not die in our sin and that we will live eternally. The ultimate opposite!