In Greek mythology, Zeus condemned Sisyphus to push a boulder up a hill eternally because he cheated death twice. Sisyphus may be a myth, but we often live in the reality of never enough. We are the recipients of God’s grace and steadfast love. Yet, we fall back under cyclical paradigms. Why do we continually find ourselves at the bottom of the hill with a heavy stone to roll upward, and how can we break the cycle?
A Carousel of Doubt
There is a cyclical nature to our trust in God. There are ebbs and flows to our courage, hope, and faith. Israel witnessed the mighty work of His hands, experienced His provision, and were recipients of His lovingkindness. Yet, grumbling and fumbling through the wilderness ensued. Before we judge them too harshly, we should exercise enough self-awareness to see that tendency in our lives. Though we’d like to portray ourselves as valiant warriors on warhorses, we tend to be more like skeptics on a carousel of doubt.
A Hamster Wheel of Merit
The allure of merit is that it can reap incredible dividends in our society. In the Christian faith, it is the antithesis of grace. When everything is never enough, our striving becomes spinning our wheels. We assume that with more effort, we can reap greater rewards. Insidiously, we can see tangible results in the here and now while our spiritual lives atrophy from faith laid aside for expended energy. We roll the stone to the top of the hill only to find it again at the bottom. Perhaps we imagine ourselves cleverly navigating a maze to find the prize, but we find ourselves like hamsters on a wheel of merit.
A Roller Coaster of Performance
The Christian life isn’t a continuous incline of improvement until we reach glorification. Scripture is replete with those on a roller coaster of performance. We ride this roller coaster whenever we evaluate our standing before God based on our latest success or failure. Paul, in Romans 7, describes our war between the desire to do good and the sin that dwells inside. We face seasons of incline and sudden drops again and again. That fluctuation isn’t a product of our personal striving as much as it is the reality of our fallen nature. The highs and lows are ebbs and flows of our humanity. Some paint Christianity as a human slingshot from depravity straight up into glory, but it’s more like a turbulent roller coaster.
A Train to Jordan
Soul music sometimes misses the theological mark. However, Curtis Mayfield was soulfully right when he sang that all you need is faith to board the train to Jordan. The reality of our lives is that there are ups and downs, pendulum swings, and vicious cycles. The glorious reality of our spiritual lives is that even though we face these loops, we are heading somewhere. We are not merely on a spiritual treadmill with sweat pouring down and no destination.
Despite being on carousels of doubt, hamster wheels of merit, and roller coasters of performance, we must remember that as believers, we are also ultimately on a train to Jordan. Our endless strivings are often the result of forgetting that God’s favor rests upon us because of Christ rather than our performance. They can also be a result of our sinful condition’s reality. What hath Sisyphus to do with grace? He tried to escape punishment in the futility of his endless effort. Like Sisyphus, we face a boulder every morning, but God freely gives His grace through His Son. Christ’s dying and rising is for us. We do not climb toward God’s acceptance; we live from it. The stone is rolled away!
