The other day I was listening to a baseball game, and one of the players did a rare thing; he hit for the cycle. In baseball language this refers to a player hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run all in the same game. In fact, this is so rare that it has only been done ten times in the entire history of the team. The broad definition of cycle, meaning circle, comes from the Latin cyclus. It is usually used to refer to a recurring period of time or a completed series of events. There are many examples of such cycles. We often hear of business and economic cycles, political cycles, fashion cycles, and even unicycles, bicycles, tricycles, and motorcycles.
There are also cycles in nature. The carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle is one in which there is a symbiotic relationship between plants and animals; plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, and animals absorb oxygen and give off carbon dioxide as a by-product of metabolism. This cycle makes possible the survival of both. Another important cycle in nature is the hydrological cycle in which tons of water are evaporated from the oceans and seas, lifted thousands of feet into the air, transported hundreds of miles, and deposited on the land in the form of rain and snow. The cycle is completed as this water is returned to the oceans via streams and rivers of fresh water. Other cycles in nature are the cyclic motion of the earth around the sun which produces the cycle of the seasons due to the tilt of the earth's axis at 23 1/2 degrees to the ecliptic; the cyclic motion of the moon about the earth on a monthly time scale.
There are religious cycles such as the salvation cycle; suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, character produces hope (Rom. 5:3,4). There is also what I call 'the sin cycle.' Recent surveys indicate that most unbelievers have a basic understanding of the gospel and the requirements for salvation, but they begin their downward spiral to unbelief by simply putting off a decision. Procrastination is probably the most dangerous and deadly sin, for it leads to negligence, negligence leads to indifference, and finally indifference leads to rejection and unbelief. When one reaches this stage, his spiritual life is probably irreconcilable for he has rejected the pleading of the Holy Spirit. "My Spirit shall not always strive with man" (Gen. 6:3).
The psalmist warned us to "Harden not your hearts" (Ps. 45:7,8), and this warning is repeated three times in Paul's letter to the Hebrews. It is important, therefore, that we heed the call to repent and follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit is saying "now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. If we procrastinate we are in danger of being trapped in the "sin cycle."
