Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:9-12

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
I John 1:5-10

Acknowledging sin doesn’t have to threaten our relationship with God, it actually deepens it.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3

Bottom Line

Practicing resurrection requires commitment to opening yourself up to the light of God’s grace.

How Not to Deal with Sin

• Hustle as if you have sole responsibility for living a holy life
• Live as if you have no responsibility for your discipleship
• Compare yourself to others
• Expect life change overnight
• Treat habitual sins as isolated events

"We have also as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word…being life, He became subject to corruption, that He might free our souls from death and corruption, and heal them, and might restore them to health when they were diseased with ungodliness and wicked lusts."
— Ignatius of Antioch

“It isn’t a sign of health or godliness to be well adjusted to a sick society”
— AJ Swoboda

“We love complaining about how busy we are but refuse to take responsibility for choosing the very things that exhaust us. The truth is that we prefer our listless routines, our harried schedules, and our inflated sense of obligation to the existential terror of sitting quietly with ourselves. We prefer comfort over joy”
— Lanta Davis

God doesn’t just want more from you, He wants to fill you up.

Tips for stepping out of spiritual laziness

• Confront the lies and bad news
• Start small
• Or do something drastic
• Be consistent
• Or try a few different things and see what works for you
• Celebrate and reinforce the truth of how God is working

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea”
— CS Lewis in ‘The Weight of Glory’

Action Steps

Prayerfully reflect on the following questions

• What draws you away from prioritizing your relationship with God: checking out, busyness, something else? What specifically? Why do you think that is?
• How much do you desire God right now?
• What consistent space is God inviting you to prioritize?

Practice

• Wake up to what’s happening in your life by doing the Examen
• Consider giving something up for Lent this year in order to create more space for God in your life
• Confess your spiritual laziness to someone else and check in with each other throughout this series