Life on the Down Escalator

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away. Hosea 11:1-2

I have often wished that the Christian life was more passive. I have longed for that button that I push just one time, turning my will over to God. I surrender now. Just take control. Remove all my destructive appetites and make me want only good.

The reality though, is that my life is like an escalator, on which the life of following God is at the top, and the life of my own destructive nature is at the bottom. The problem is, the escalator is always moving down. When I sit back and do nothing, I just naturally follow my self-destructive desires, ending up at the bottom. For me, doing nothing is the same as choosing wrong. If I want to grow, if I want to move up the escalator, I must purposefully pursue God.

This seems to be a similar condition as the Israelites in today’s passage. In it, God summed up generations of his people’s history in a few sentences. I saved you. I called you my children. The more I call though, the more you run from me. It is your nature to abandon me.

I’ve been there. I’ve looked back in frustration at my choices and wondered, What is wrong with me? My tendency towards self-destruction has caused me to question my faith. How can I be a Christian if I still have these miserable appetites?

Today’s passage is a reminder though, that I am not alone. This is the natural human condition. In this life, we all retain a persistent flawed nature that wars against the life we should be living (1 Peter 2:11). It is our nature to follow ourselves over God.

God allows this, so that we continue to need him. He loves us and longs for us to love him back. If we were naturally good, we wouldn’t need God. It is our job daily then, to do whatever it takes to abandon ourselves and follow him. If we don’t want to live at the bottom of the escalator, and if we want to know the life we were made for, we must continually pursue God.