gospel of mastery

We spend 4 years getting a college degree.  Some less, and some, hopefully not too much more…  And another 2-4 years obtaining a Master’s.  We spend a few months getting a yellow belt and another 5 years mastering towards a black belt.  We all start somewhere and then spend years achieving the definition “having or showing very great skill or proficiency,” “to acquire complete knowledge or skill in,” “gain control of, overcome.”

Genesis 4:6-7  Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

We’ve gotten good as a culture at Mastery.  There are an incredible amount of tools to become proficient and “complete in knowledge” of a skill. 

I love to learn.  And I’m a sucker for learning something new.  I’m enticed by books with fancy titles and covers.  I’m in to the whole self-development scene.  I always want to get better.  And I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on education, development, training, etc.

Oddly, since I would ‘say’ my faith is the most important thing in my life… it’s strange that I spend so little time mastering the thing God has specifically asked us to master.  Sin. 

I think the problem for me is that I don’t get a Degree in overcoming sin.  I like to get that sticker of achievement.  The ‘well done.’  The pat on the pack. 

Instead, sin is something I simply must master every single day of my life.  Kind of draining, right?  A little bit…

We have been trained to work at something… finish a race… and then… get our degree, medal… and it’s over.  We did it!

In overcoming sin, we never get a medal.  We get to wake up… and overcome it again.  Wake up.  And overcome it again.  …and that’s assuming we made it through the night without screwing it all up then... 

That might not sound like good news but that is also what is so odd about the Believer’s vocabulary.  We change the substance of the very meaning of words.

Where mourners are comforted.  And the weak inherit the earth.  And the hungry are filled.  And where suffering leads to redemption.   

We awake each day… not bound by sin whatsoever.  But finding that the One whose very suffering led to our redemption has already overcome.  There’s not something I can purchase to master sin.  Because the ironic thing is, for the believer, we’ve already been purchased.  And that’s good news.