Liverpool and perseverance

Right now I'm feeling pretty annoyed about Liverpool. I fixed a slow puncture in my front tyre this evening which was probably coming from one of the half dozen or so puncture repair patches which were adorning the inner tube. The cunning solution was to replace the inner tube, and to my great joy I successfully completed my journey to housegroup this evening.

However as I had nearly reached our house on my return journey I became aware that my rear tyre was becoming rather bouncy, the classic puncture sign. So yes, I had managed to now get a puncture in my other tyre the same evening I had fixed one, which left me feeling just incredibly frustrated. It things like this that make me want one of two things. 1 is a car or 2 is to go and live somewhere the streets aren't paved with broken glass. Right now I'd prefer 2.

Anyway the whole thing has reminded me of a conversation that I had with Jack and Tom about perseverance on Saturday. I think my view of perseverance normally would go something along the lines of "I'd really enjoy cycling in Liverpool if it wasn't for all the broken glass and things that make it an annoying experience". Naturally I enjoy cycling and would do it but there are specific things that prevent me from doing so.

I think I feel the same way often about my spiritual life, that I could be quite a good Christian if there weren't all these external distractions that lead me away from God, that if I was left to my own purposes I would naturally follow the path that God has set out for me.

Then I remember that "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9)

Also "And he said 'What comes out of person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a person.'" (Mark 7:20-23)

Naturally I'm not going to follow the path that God has set before me, because naturally I'm lazy and sinful and often both. So in our discussion we were reflecting on a different view of perseverance. Not so much continuing despite continual external pressure but persevering in making the decisions that will keep us on God's path. Persevering in submitting to the Holy Spirit, perservering in reading the Bible, perservering in praying, perservering in making wise decisions like going to bed at a sensible time.

In conclusion the image in my mind is not so much the constant battle with punctures but a different image. I imagine what I'd be like if I had a car. I would know that cycling was better for me, cheaper, often quicker in rush hour and yet my natural tendency would be to drive, puncture or no puncture. And on that note I'm going to head off, try and get an early night so I can wake up and fix my bike :-)