O wretched man that I am!

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

The Apostle Paul wrote: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:21-24)

O how many failures we suffer along our journey to the Father’s house! It is not that the inner man desires to fail; rather it is the constant sinfulness of the flesh that torments us like a ball and chain. That new creature born of God within every believer desires to soar with the eagles among the lofty clouds in the heavenlies, but the old creature of the flesh desires to wallow with the maggots in the dung heaps of the world. Thus, there is an evil companion dogging the believer every step of his pilgrimage upon this earth bringing railing accusations and tugging upon the fleshly chains of bondage as the saints attempt to mount to spiritual heights.

Every child of the living God must serve the Lord in this foreign land for an unknown duration of time. We have been assigned to a tour of duty here and are expected to fulfill it with determination and honor. We have been given orders to be faithful to our calling.

When I was stationed away in the military I longed to hear my family’s voice and to see their faces. At first when filled with thoughts of adventure it was not so very hard to overcome the longings, but as the period of time grew so did my longing and the wait became increasingly more difficult. Each child of God finds himself becoming more homesick as the days and years pass. It is not the pearly gates, the streets of gold, the white robes, the crowns, or even the beautiful mansions that entice the believers toward our home in the heavenly Jerusalem; rather there is a panting to hear the voice and to see the face of the Lord of glory. We grow increasingly weary to see and to with the Bridegroom.

The word “wretched” means miserable and insufficient. As long as we are held hostage to this flesh we are miserably absent from our Beloved. We also find ourselves insufficient for the tasks set before us. O what a glorious day it will be to hear the rallying cry of the freedom trumpet! We shall then cry, “Free at last, free at last”!!!!