“Take an empty vessel and put it into some stream that is in its course to the sea, it will infallibly be carried thither, according to the course and speed of the stream; but let strong winds arise upon it, it will be driven with violence on every bank and rock, until, being broke in pieces, it is swallowed up of the ocean. Men’s lust will infallibly (if not mortified in the death of Christ) carry them to eternal ruin, but oftentimes without much noise, according to the course of the stream of their corruptions; but let the wind of strong temptations befall them, they are hurried into innumerable scandalous sins, and so, broken upon all accounts, are swallowed up into eternity.”
– Overcoming Sin and Temptation, three classic works by John Owen, p. 190
How many people today have wrecked themselves upon “every bank and rock” as they allow themselves to flirt with the sins that surround them, ever floating towards what Owen describes as the ocean of eternity. The above section is part of a paragraph from Owen’s essay on the nature of temptation and how to avoid entering in to it, and what a mind bending essay it is! I would highly recommend it to all who would spend the time to read it in its fullness. My call here to you is the same as Owen’s is, and the same that Christ’s is in the garden of Gethsemane when he told his disciples to “Watch and pray, lest you fall into temptation.”
I see so many people around me, and so much in myself, that is like the empty vessel that Owen describes above, floating blindly – perhaps slowly – but surely towards the sea, not knowing that it is flowing away from the safety and peace and joy of the heartland of God. Do not allow yourselves to be lulled to sleep, my friends! We are surrounded by infinite temptations in this world in which we reside. From sex to food to entertainment to work to rest, all things are things that tempt us to abuse what is good and thereby make it evil. Do not think, like that empty vessel, that simply because everything seems calm and smooth all is well. In my own experience as a Christian, that is often the opposite of the truth. More often than not it is the times where everything seems perfectly gentle and passive that I am, in truth, drifting swiftly from the King I love.
At times it is God’s mercy that sends a wind to crash us upon the rocks at the side of the stream in which we float, awaking us from our slumber and causing us to realize just how far away we’ve fell. But how much better for the man who keeps his guard and stops his backsliding before he has fallen even an inch! Doing so would save many a person from numerous trials and heartaches.
My cry for you this day, dear friends, is that you would not simply take the river course like an empty vessel and allow yourself to drift away into an ocean of misery, distant from the creator. Instead, be on your guard and be aware of the temptations that surround us. Guard your heart, as Proverbs exhorts(Prov. 4:23). Know where it is that you are most vulnerable; what things draw you most strongly away from Christ; the times of the days and seasons that you are most susceptible; and keep those things not only strongly in your own mind, but reveal them to a choice few Christian brothers and sisters so that they might also be a guard and a shield to keep you close to the Lord. Never cease to press hard after the Lord. Delve deeply into His word and set aside frequent, regular times where you will draw away from the temptations of the earth to come before Him in prayer and praise. Surround yourself by the things of God, and set your mind not on earthly things, but upon things above, where Christ, who is our Righteousness, is seated at the right hand of God. (Coll. 3:1)
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