I'M STANDING UP ON THE INSIDE

 

Granddaughter Samantha 2006

Years ago, our son, Jes, and our future daughter-in-law, Jessica, had the responsibility of picking up someone from the airport for the wedding of their friend. They were surprised when they met the group from Japan and discovered that they had no car seat for their four-year-old. After getting the child safely to their friend's house, Jes and Jessica promptly went out and bought a car seat. They respected the law and wanted to obey it—not simply because it was the law, but because they knew it was intended for the child's safety.

That story reminds me of another story I heard years ago. A little girl was standing up on the seat in the car. Her mother insisted that she sit down and put on her seat belt. After some quick discussion, the girl finally submitted. But then she said, "I'm still standing up on the inside."

Isn't that sometimes how we are? We may obey outwardly while our hearts are still resisting.

I am very blessed to live in the United States and to have the freedom we have here. We can express our opinions and speak our minds as long as our speech is peaceful. Yet freedom does not mean that everything we choose to do is necessarily good for us or for those around us.

As I look at our culture today, I sometimes feel as though the young people are repeating some of the attitudes of the 1970s. Ugly is in, and language that once would have shocked us has become commonplace. Tattoos are now so normal that someone without tattoos can sometimes be the one who stands out. Yet customs and standards vary greatly from one part of the world to another. In some areas of Tanzania, for example, tattoos are considered far more serious than we might imagine—some even viewing them as worse than adultery.

These differences remind me that what our culture accepts is not always the same as what is best for us. And underneath all these outward expressions is something we all have in common: there is a little bit of rebellion in every one of us.

It is difficult to walk the straight path when there is so much noise surrounding us. We want to have friends. We want to fit in. We want to enjoy life. Sometimes one small step away from what is good seems harmless, but that one step can make the next step easier—and before long, we can find ourselves farther from the path than we ever intended to be.

So how do we live the best life? How do we continue walking in the right direction when making the effort becomes tiring? Sometimes it may seem almost useless to keep trying. We are running the marathon of this life, and we can become weary from the effort.

But there is Good News!

God does not ask us to run this race in our own strength. When we ask Him, He will indwell us with the power of His Holy Spirit. He helps us recognize what is right, gives us strength when we are weak, and draws us back when we begin to wander. Through His Word and His people, He teaches us how to keep walking the straight path.

Perhaps the goal isn't simply to make sure we are sitting down on the outside. God wants to change what is happening on the inside as well. We don't have to remain "standing up on the inside." Through His grace, He can change our hearts so that our outward obedience becomes an expression of an inward desire to follow Him.

And when we stumble—and we will—we don't have to give up. We can get back on the path, ask for His help, and keep running the race. The Good News is that we don't run it alone.

I Kings 19:18 "...Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”