Losing

Our attitudes toward winning and losing in our society are quite interesting. We love winners. Who won the World Series last year? The Phillies, of course. Who did they defeat to get to the World Series? Well, now, let me see. I remember the beat the Rays for the Series, but who in the world did they beat to get to the Series? Hmmm. We love our winners but we quickly forget the losers. John McCain was on the news everyday until he lost. Then he fell off the cliff. There's an episode of the West Wing in their final season after the election. Arnie Vinnick (played by Alan Alda) is shown after losing. Nobody even notices him at a coffee shop. A few weeks earlier, he lost the election for President of the U.S. by about 40,000 votes. Millions voted for him - and then forgot him. When is the last time you heard from Michael Dukakis, Bob Dole, or Walter Mondale? We love winners. We forget the ones who lose.
I have lost some wieght recently. The loss is getting noticeable. I have had to change belts and I am wearing clothes I haven't worn since before I got to Pasadena. But my loss has become the stuff of celebration. People are excited about my loss. Instead of forgetting what I have done they have become cheerleaders for losing more. It's an odd paradox. Some losses are quite acceptable and others are forgettable.
When we seek the Lord and ask for his forgiveness we suffer a loss. We lose sin and the effects of the sins that we have committed in our lives. Most of the time we express this in winners terms. Forgiveness is a gain. But, a gain and loss of what? Oddly enough, it is a gain of righteousness. At the same time it is a loss of the nature with which we were born. We lose sin and gain holiness. Maybe that's why we don't express it in those terms. We are far more comfortable with just talking about the loss of sin in the gaining of forgiveness. Why? Because everyone wants to forget sin and sin is what we lose.
However, I'm not sure we should lose everything about sin. Don't misunderstand, I am glad that God "loses" our sins, at least as far as the East is from the West. I ma just not sure we should lose all the things related to sin. I don't think we should lose the feeling we experience when we are wallowing in our sins. I don't' think we should lose our sense of elation when sin was taken away. I don't think we should lose the remembrance of the things we lost when we were in sin. I don't want to wallow in sin any more, but I don't ever want to forget the testimony I have that is based on sin and the forgiveness I received. I don't ever want to forget that Paul said, "When I am weak, then I am strong." My weakness is based on my complete trust in Christ. My strength is that I know am strong only as I recognize what I have lost and on whom I am dependent. Thank God I lost. To be a winner in this "game" is to be the ultimate loser. Amen.