The Life of An Overcomer

Too often, I believe, we have defined an overcomer as someone who is always victorious. In other words, they never fail. To think that way places a very select few into the category. I mean, a VERY SELECT FEW. What if an overcomer is not someone who is always victorious, but one who will ultimately be victorious? Meaning that they never give up. They may fall, but they will pick themselves up. They may lose every now and then, but in the end they will win. They endure. The continue to move forward. That, my friend, sounds a little more realistic.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. I honestly believe that we have the ability to live just like Jesus lived. Same integrity. Same honesty. Same character. How is this possible? Because we have His Spirit living within us. With that being said, I realize that we do stumble. We do fall. We often miss the mark of God's glorious ideal for our lives. But that cannot define us. Our mistakes, our failures, and our sins do not determine who we are in this life, that is, unless we allow them to. Instead, we are learning how to be defined by His grace at work within us. To see ourselves through His finished work. To live our lives with endurance. Never allowing ourselves to be so setback that we stop moving forward. This is what it means to overcome.

Let me ask you a question. How do you handle sin? Or maybe the better question is: "How do you handle things after you sin?"
Depending upon your background this could be a long discussion. For many people the answer comes with a list of things like Confession, Repentance, Seeking Forgiveness, Accountability, Fasting, Etc. While I understand this need within us to know that we are forgiven and to know that we have done everything in our hearts to properly represent our remorse, the reality is that even after these things are accomplished we struggle to move forward. Stuck in guilt and shame, many believers don't do anything but try to maintain the ground they have already won. It's not until they deal with this overwhelming sense of failure that they can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What if it didn't have to be this way? What if we looked at sin a bit differently? What if we saw ourselves in a different light?

The truth is that many people believe that sin is a gross violation of God's Law. It's something that we should not do, or something that we should do that we are not doing. What I'm saying is that our definition of sin is wrapped around our behavior. But what if sin is not behavior centered? What if it has more to do with what we believe (or do not believe)? The point that I'm trying to make is that the latter understanding will bring you to reconciliation much quicker. You will find yourself jumping back in the race a lot faster. You will see yourself through the finished work of Christ, even when you fall. You see, all sin is rooted in unbelief. Whatever is not of faith is sin. When we choose to believe that we are everything that He says that we are, then it becomes much more difficult to sin. We discover that grace is always available to live in this identity. And we understand that sin no longer has dominion over us.

Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says: "...lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith." Most of us understand what a weight is. It's anything that encumbers us, slows us down, brings resistance, or hinders us from running. However, what most people don't know is this thing of "sin which doth so easily beset us." It means to skillfully surround. It's the idea of something keeping you from running at all. What was the besetting sin of the Hebrews? UNBELIEF! It's what the writer has been dealing with all along. They were struggling to believe that all that Jesus did was enough. They were struggling to come out from under everything that was the Old Covenant. They were tempted to turn back into their old way of life and religion. The writer had sufficiently proven his case to them, and now he is effectively telling them to get in the race. They wanted to give up. The persecution was too great. He's saying, "Don't Give Up!" This is the life of an overcomer.

I love his language here:
Lay aside every weight
Lay aside the besetting sin of unbelief
In essence, do away with everything that will keep you from running.

It's verses like this that remind me that our faith is not about sin management. On the contrary, I believe that our faith is more about life management. It's how we live in this incredible identity as a son of God. How we always rise to the occasion. That regardless of what the world may throw in our direction, we will continue to walk with Him. Our minds are made up. Our hearts are fully engaged with the person of the Lord. We will no longer be dominated by missing the mark of His view and opinion. We will no longer be swayed by the opinions of the religious. We have found Him to be an all sufficient Savior. We trust in His finished work.

I may fall, but I will not stay down.
I may struggle at times, but I will find my way.
I may blow it in the next five minutes, but I will not give up.
Shame, guilt, and condemnation will bow down to His goodness, love, grace, and mercy.
I will overcome because He has overcome.
Looking unto Jesus (not my shortcomings, my failures, or my sin) will produce the endurance I need.
This is the life of an overcomer.

Enjoy the journey!