Scripture Reading: Luke 15:16-18
16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
An old English Christmas Carol entitled "Here We Come A Wassailing" has a phrase in it that describes a state of our lives. Part of one stanza states, "we who wander in the mire." The phrase describes the old tradition of people who would wander from house to house and bring with them a wassail punch (mostly spirits) and brown bread. They would sing to the occupants of the house and hope to share in the Wassail Bowl. Today Wassail is a good cider, non alcoholic drink that bears fond memories in every cup. But just as it brings memories, the song and its phrase reminds us of how we can wander in the mire.
Its not hard to realize this concept in February of 2010 as the whole Mid Atlantic coast is seeing constant snowfall. This build up of beauty makes it hard to get around in. The snow then goes from pretty white to a disgusting dingy brown and turns the ground to mud, hence we have "mire."
In the old days of the Victorian era and before, the word "mire" was used as a term for a thick, sloggy mess of mud that would ruin your clothes, make life miserable to work in it, make things look ugly and its cold clammy feel was something unwelcome. Today, though the word is used little, the concept of "mire" is appropriate. Not physical mire, but that of Spiritual Mire.
As the Prodigal Son saw in the Mire of the Hog Pen, Spiritual Mire are those things which can defile a person's relationship with God. As we Christians live our lives in the world we must trudge through it filth as well. Doubtlessly this will have effects on us all to some degree, but it is that degree that we need to keep check on.
We choose the paths in which to walk spiritually as we do physically. Remember the mud holes as kids you use to splash in even though that is not what mom wanted you to do? Remember the freshly bathed dog would run outside and hit the nearest bog or muddy part of the yard? These were choices each person makes. We choose to either avoid as much miry paths as we can or we plough through them. Spiritually speaking, we choose the same. While we would agree in our sensible state that there is nothing attractive about a mud hole or swampy mire, there is something alluring to sin. There is something in sin that attracts, fascinates, captivates, aggravates and invites us to jump head long into.
When we fall into the Spiritual Mire of Sin we do so sometimes by accident, but most times by choice. Whichever the situation here are some things that happen. Just as walking through the miry mud, we:
1. Stain our testimonies before others
2. Take on what we did desire to be cast off
3. Vex our souls with filth when we had desired purity
4. Deny many times the appearance and even protect its results upon us
5. We become ashamed as we question ourselves about the rewards of sin vs. the costs
While no one is immune to sin or its damaging consequences, we cannot use that as an excuse for poor judgement in living. How worn out is the phrase, "Well, that is just the way I am!"
If you are a true possessor of faith in Christ that statement should aptly read, "Well, that is the way I WAS, but no more." Yet myself and you have tried to excuse our misguided sights on a weakness that really has no control over us as it once did.
When we are born again, we lose that binding of slavery to sin. We are now free to choose the better path. Even if it were true that we stumble into sin blindly, it is still true that we did it because we were not focused on God's Word. We wander and wander and wander deeper in the mire of sin until we are ready to listen to the Holy Spirit's voice of correction.
So what do we do to avoid/escape wandering in the mire of Sin.
1. Stay focused on Christ and the Word. It is a discipline that is not easy as the world constantly pulls at us. Pray for strength.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to keep after us in check of our sin levels. As noted earlier, we all have some degree of mire on us, keeping it cleaned off is necessary.
3. Make every choice against the standards of God's Word.
4. If found caught in the mire:
a. Desire to be in its grasp no longer
b. Ask the Lord to forgive your wanderings into it away from Him
c. Begin your journey out by repentance and head towards a deeper commitment to Christ
d. Sound off warnings to to others of the pitfalls that once ensnared you
The greatest news is that those who wander in the mire, while certainly not commended, can certainly be cleansed. As God's child, you can be just as clean as the Prodigal Son, who traded the Hog Pen for the Love of His Father by arising and going towards Him in repentance. The Father is not pleased with the muck we wallow in, but it does not separate a true Son or Daughter either.
Are you wandering in the mire of Sin? Have you wandered so long in it that it seems natural? Turn to Christ now and be cleansed, remembering the best days were the ones spent on the dry roads of His Favor.
"Father, today, I pray for those who are struggling with the mire of Sin. Help them to turn to you and be rid of the agent which defiles all of us from You. Assure them of your love, break them of rebellion, restore them by Your Loving Grace. In Your Name, Amen."
