“He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house”
In the original language the word used for “walking along” literally means “as in a funeral procession or sauntering”. In other words the young man is not moving quickly or even at a normal pace past the prostitute or adulteress home, he is casually sauntering by hoping for a tantalizing glimpse. How often do we flirt with sin. We feel we are keeping a safe distance. Just getting a brief glance at the enticement then moving on by. Only somehow we end up not quite making it past. It’s like in that casual moment somehow the temptation reaches out and grabs hold of our ankle and guides us in its direction. We believe we can play with sin but not get caught up in it. The picture of that is trying to see how close we can get to the edge of a cliff without falling off. We discover it was one step back as we fall over the edge. There is no safe distance near sin. We must do as Joseph did when pursued by Potiphars’ wife…run! Don’t look back, don’t reconsider. Run! Sin is not to be truffled with. It is not to be enjoyed at a distance. It is to be run from as though it was death itself. Because it is. As harmless as sin may appear it is anything but. One reason I don’t care for religions that minimize certain sins is that every sin drove the nails in Jesus. Today run from the very idea of sin. #BeTheEdge
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NIV
