You know some folk make it all sound too easy, like one of the adverts on T.V. that declares:
“Cuts through greasy washing up in the twinkling of an eye”. And you’re shown a great slab in the kitchen that had been full of filthy plates and tins a moment ago, now is not only sparkling and clean but even the walls have been washed and painted and you can almost smell the fresh flowers that come from it.

Now I’ve heard folk talk like this about the Christian faith. As if, once you believe in Christ, all your problems go away and you become an instant saint with no fears, no depression, no gloom littering up your kitchen.

Well, I don’t think that it’s possible suddenly to overcome everything in one stroke. I know for a fact that Jesus can and does change people instantly, so dramatically it can only be described as being ‘born again’, but from that point on the Christian life is a series of victories, that God wants to win in us and through us.

These daily battles are a kind of unrelenting struggle, a continual battle against all kinds of evil things.
Can you think of someone right now that you’re at odds with and you’re convinced that it’s all their fault? Now to make up your mind to go and put it right without justifying yourself one scrap, that is one of those little battles that helps to make a complete victory. There aren’t any such things as instant saints.

Instantly Christian, but then it takes a lifetime to make a saint.