Some Things Don’t Fit
“Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.” Proverbs 26:1
Some things just don’t fit. Many times in the Bible, God, through His writers, used this means of communication to get His point across. “What fellowship does light have with darkness?” These are different. We use the expression, “…as different as night and day”. “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? Can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” (James 3:11-12).
It is just as inconsistent for a Christian to have things in his or her life that do not fit, as it is for a fresh water spring to bring forth salt water. One action contradicts the other.
God has prepared us to meet any need that we have. You and I have been saved by a loving God of grace and mercy. He took our lives, cleaned us up with the blood of His beloved Son and set us on a course to live for Him. How could we be consistent with our cleansing if there are things in our lives that do not fit, things that speak entirely opposite of what God has done, and is doing, for us.
Paul used this line of thinking in Romans chapter six when he talked to them about trying to use grace as a license to sin. “…Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2). To use grace as a license to sin is inconsistent with our baptism. In baptism, we said we wanted to bury the old man, bury the sin of our lives and rise up to live for Jesus. Trying to go back and live the way we once did just does not fit. It is like trying to get figs from a grapevine or olives from a fig tree or snow in the heat of summer.
We are called to change. Our former way of life was to live as we wanted, whether it made sense or not. It was our nature to do what felt right for ourselves, not considering what was best for others or what would please God the most. We lived in darkness, but now we live in the light. How can darkness and light get along in unison. No way! They just don’t fit.
James talks about the “mirror of the Word.” The Bible, the things God wanted us to know and live by, is our mirror. It doesn’t fit, as James used the example, for a man to look into a mirror to see what needs to be done to correct or enhance his appearance, and walk away without doing anything. What is the purpose of looking, anyway? God expects us to look into the mirror, see what is out of place and do something about it. Fix it. Correct it. Be satisfied with it. Just do something! To do nothing does not fit.
Over and over the “Good Book” warns us about our attitudes. It warns us of the way we should or should not live. It tells us how to properly treat one another. It shows us how God did it when He walked the earth in the flesh. He does all of this for us so that we might learn what fits and what does not.
Repentance is not some “front bench” experience in a church building. Repentance is recognizing what does not fit and replacing it with what does. We have looked at repentance as something only the most vile among us must do. Wrong! Repentance is for all of us, often. God calls us to repentance.
Is there anything in your life that does not fit? If so, what are you going to do about it?