‘But many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the
Christian life, instead of going on to create and build our soul in
accordance with the new life God has placed within us. We fail because we are
ignorant of the way God has made us, and we
blame things on the devil that are actually the result of our own undisciplined
natures.’ CHAMBERS
Have you ever met an adult who was mentally
handicapped .. meaning they had matured physically but their mental capacity
had not kept pace with their physical growth.
In a similar way, Christians can be spiritually handicapped. They may
have received Christ as Lord years before.
They may have been members of a church for years, maybe even decades. But
they have chosen to stay at the entrance to the Christian life. By not making
the practice of the disciplines of the faith a priority, they have stunted
their spiritual growth. Paul said … ‘And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual
people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not
with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now
you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy,
strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?’
(1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
Spiritual maturity is not something
reserved for a select, but an expectation for every Saint. When we choose to remain infants .. we miss
the great blessing of our faith. We stop
looking at our faith in the context of our flesh and begin to consider our
flesh in the context of our faith. There
are not many Christians who would disagree with the notion that what the Bible
says is true, but there are many who live their lives and hold attitudes that
suggest that the Bible is not true. While
we should not expect people who do not have the Spirit of God to understand
spiritual things .. and so live in ways that are contrary to the Word … we
should expect Christians to understand them. If they don’t … it is because they have chosen
to stay at the entrance and not to venture in.
There are a number of social issues
in our country that are clearly contrary to the Word. The Word does not change .. “The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8)
What is right and what is wrong in
any culture is determined by the will of the people .. if they use the Word as
their guide, then the Word will be evidenced in their laws, if not .. the
definition of right and wrong will be determined by the whim of the
generation. As a whole, the people of
this country have turned to themselves for wisdom … ‘There is a way that seems right to a
man, But its end is the way of death.’ (Proverbs 14:12)
‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.’ (Romans 12:2)
We must resist the temptation to yield
to the culture .. to accept a lie as truth … to believe the that culture’
values somehow trump the Word of God. As
Christians we are called to renew our minds through the Word of God .. living
our lives in a way that demonstrates our belief … going beyond the entrance …even
to the foot of the Cross …
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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