One of the most annoying things in Avignon is the fact that every morning the streets sidewalks and halfway up first floor walls are power washed. I couldn't figure out why the first day we had to meet at 07:30 that the sidewalks were wet. I had my window open and didn't hear the rain through the night. They next day, at Place Pie (plass P) I notice that there were many guys in day glow colored out fits with reflective patches all over them. On my way coming home, I step in a warm steamy pile of dog excrement, and thought about why people in this town could clean up after their stupid dogs. Then next morning, while trying to skate my way to our meeting place, I notice the pile was gone, which lead me to believe the streets are cleaned everyday. This also explains why starting at 21:00 you'll find yourself tripping over people's trash bags.
This got me thinking about the spiritual lesson to be had here. One of the most amazing things about faith and Discipleship in Christ is the fact each day is another chance to start over in your heart in the spiritual realm. Paul put it best in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say, then? 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?" I certainly don't mean you can restart your relationship with God, but rather, he gives the opportunity to us to not continue to feel guilty or worldly sorry about how we screwed things up. I honestly think, this is what grace is all about, not beating yourself up about the things you should, would, could do. Rather, focus on the fact it is a new day, and you now have another opportunity to honor God, give him praise, and shine his glory on others.
Why do I bring this up, it's the steamy pile that has me upset, because we get into sin, we tend to say, fall into it. I didn't intentionally step into the pile, rather I wasn't paying close enough attention to where I was putting my feet. This is what I think goes through one's mind about actually sinning. No one can ever say, "I didn't mean to take that look and have that thought." If you looked and thought it, you made the decision to not watch where you are taking your spiritual steps.
Recently in our church, Amy and I had the tough and uncomfortable joy of listening to a leader read to the church about a dating couple who had been approached about the impurity going on in their relationship. They both felt, we're planing on getting married and want to be a part of this fellowship. You can't have both, is pretty much what leadership group in place had told them. Either get married now or don't come back until you are married. You tell me, were they watching their spiritual steps?
I know when Amy and I dated, it was one of the things we had to be legalistic about. Some people thought it weird we imposed an 23:00 curfew for the both of us, but in all honesty, it helped out so much when Amy spent the summer in Boulder while were dating. I knew, on Sunday, we would have both benefited from not struggling with impurity and had a great night of rest as well. Some applauded us for it, others told us we were too legalistic about it, but the hedges were in place, because we need our path to formed so we could focus on our spiritual walk to God with each other.
By no means am I trying to water down the message of the Gospel, but rather placing an important morsel of Godliness you can have for you walk with God. Each day brings another chance to honor God. When you rise from your rest, think of it as your Resurrection from the dead (some of are dead as logs when we sleep), what is you are going to do to keep yourself fighting to stay on the narrow path?
