The apostle Paul describes his (and our) struggle with sin as follows: "For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:18-25, ESV)
I don't know if you're a fan of The Walking Dead but it's about so much more than flesh eating zombies. At the heart of the show is each character's struggle with morality in a world where compassion and empathy can get you killed. Merle was the central character in this week's episode. Merle is an obnoxious racist that seems to be at odds with everyone. He's done some terrible things in the past and in this week's episode he plans to hand over Michonne (who is black) to be tortured by the opposition leader in an attempt to avoid further bloodshed. On the way, however, Michonne talks to Merle and manages to reach him at some level. He has feelings of remorse and lets her go, realizing that despite his previous bad behavior, he can choose a different path this time. He mounts an attack against the opposition, killing several men before he is shot and killed. He then turns into a zombie and his brother Daryl is forced to destroy him.
If a good man like the apostle Paul struggled with sin, surely we all struggle with sin. We also know that even people like Merle have the capacity for good inside them. Decent and honorable people fall prey to temptation, and even the worst of sinners can be kind and generous at times. The most interesting thing about Merle is that the person who had every right to hate him (Michonne) was the one who actually looked for the spark of decency inside him. Isn't that how it should be, though? That's the example set by Jesus. When the Pharisees asked him why he ate with tax collectors & sinners, Jesus answered them "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31-32, ESV) Jesus saw the spark of decency in all sinners. Shouldn't we try to do the same?
