Cling To the Right Thing
by Malcolm Wood
Sellotape, and its modern equivalents, are very much part of everyday life, especially at parcel wrapping time. It was during such a `wrapping` session, just before Christmas, that I was once again aware of the contrary nature of adhesive tape. As I carefully tried to apply the tape to the paper surrounding a fragile item, the tape refused to adhere to the relevant area without my applying extra pressure. Whereas, at other times, when attempting to keep the tape from sticking where it wasn`t required, it seemed to stick quite easily, and then was difficult to remove without damaging the paper.
Although my experiences with the tape that wouldn`t stick where it was needed, and did stick where it wasn`t needed, may be due to the way I wrap parcels, it did make me think that perhaps we can sometimes be like that in our lives – holding on to things we shouldn`t hold on to, and not holding on to those things we should hold on to.
This is similar to the problem that the Apostle Paul faced when he said in Romans 7:21 `It seems a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong` (NLT). He later declares `Thank God! The answer is in Christ Jesus our Lord` (Romans 7:25). It`s only through Jesus and the power of His Spirit that we are able to experience victory in these situations. This is why it`s important that we take to heart the words from Hebrews 4:14b-15 `Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours (Jesus) understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin`.
Elsewhere we`re encouraged to `Cling to that which is good` (John 12:9); Timothy is instructed to `Cling tightly to your faith in Christ` (1 Timothy 1:19); and we`re told to `Hold tightly to the hope we say we have` (Hebrews 10:23).
The words of Jesus to the religious leaders of His day can also be a challenge to us, as we read in Mark 7:8 `You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions`. We have to make sure we`re clinging to the right thing.
To enable us to cling to that which is right we need to ensure that nothing is preventing us from doing so. `Let us strip off (let go of) every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress` (Hebrews 12:1).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, please help me to hold on more tightly to You, and all that`s good and helpful, and to let go of all that would stop me from doing so. Amen.
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
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