According to Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian, “We don’t read the Bible, it reads us.” And so it does. It reads us like an open book. With uncanny accuracy it lays bare our deepest and most real selves. The temptation story is no longer just the narrative of Adam’s fall. Now it’s my story, and yours, for who among us hasn’t succumbed to the temptation to try to be like God. Isn’t that what’s at the root of all of our sins, all of our conflicts—this desperate desire to “do it my way”?
“For if you live by [the] dictates [of your sinful nature], you will die…”
— Romans 8:13 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, deliver me from my sinful self-will lest I destroy myself and those I love. In Your holy name I pray.