"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: 'Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'” - Ephesians 5:8-14
I have known a good number of Christians who have made tremendous errors in spiritual judgement. Those errors have derailed their lives and brought grief and heartache … sometimes that lasts a lifetime. And yet, they persist in making the same poor choices based upon their emotions … perhaps their desire to “fix the problem themselves" or merely yield to the need that seems to dominate their lives. Although they may sing “Jesus loves me this I know” … time and again they choose their own path and solutions over the path that God has laid out for them.
"A man makes plans in his heart, but God orders his steps" - Proverbs 16:9
They quench the Spirit and listen to their flesh instead. They ignore the Biblical counsel of their friends and family … and repeat the same mistakes that they have made in the past with, predictably, the same result. When I see this happening, my heart breaks because I know the joy they have rejected for the trouble that they will inevitably embrace as they are victimized by the consequences of their choices. Does that sound dismal? That’s because it is. God has called us out of that life. But to live our new life successfully, our faith must be more than a philosophy … or the “get out of hell free” card we hold in our hearts. The great gift we have came with a price .. Jesus on the cross .. yet even that is a distant thought. Sadly, very often, that truth is not enough to motivate us to choose God .. to follow the Spirit .. to sacrifice the flesh.
So why does that happen? One reason, I think, is that most of us do not really want to completely separate ourselves from our old life. It’s one thing to be in the world as a Christian. It’s quite another to participate with the world - even though you are a Christian. Embracing what we know to be sin in an effort to secure the world’s substitute for God’s will and way. As I write this, I know that the interesting thing is that although you or I might speak to the wayward Christian to encourage them to draw close to Jesus, only the Spirit of God can bring conviction to their hearts and only the wanderer can yield to that conviction and turn to God in repentance. So what to do. Well.... we might start by being an example. Love them .. not their sin … like Jesus. Pray for them. And bear the hurt in your heart as you watch them struggle with the impossibility of the life they have chosen. Jesus spoke to the problem … the Apostles wrote about the problem to the churches .. so it is obviously not a new problem in our generation. It is the age-old struggle between the carnal and the Spiritual nature. The nature that you feed is the one that will dominate your choices.
I find that I have struggled with some particular issue in my life and then, by the grace and power of God, I have overcome it. But then, over time, I let my guard down and I found myself right back in the same place. Why? because I lacked discipline and awareness. Ever have that happen to you? Of course you have - it is part of the human condition that can only be overcome with a spiritual solution.
As I was writing this, the Spirit reminds me that the person I am referring to is Me, not you. I can write no words of encouragement or caution without seeing the reflection of my face in the mirror. "All have sinned" This may be trivial in light of some of the challenges others face, but some years back I had gained a good bit of weight. It was not a healthy place to be. I came under conviction that it was going to inhibit my ability to go and do as the Lord directed. So I made a concerted effort to lose weight - a good bit of weight in fact. I achieved my goal, but then I thought that I could just get back to the way I was living and eating before the weight loss. Any guesses what happened? Right! I started gaining weight again. I had already proven that I must watch what I eat - but then I allowed my habits - my lust for the wrong food to take me back near to the place I thought I had escaped. Now, once again, the Spirit has brought the issue to my conscious mind. What is the definition of insanity?
As Christians, when the Spirit brings a holy dissatisfaction about some aspect of our lives, we must be willing to repent. We must choose Jesus. He is the Way and the Life and the Truth. (John 14:6) We know the Truth. To stop doing what you know is wrong for you does not require self-will but the surrendering of our will. "not my will but Thy will be done" The only way you can do that is by the Spirit. “It’s not by might or by power but by the Spirit”(Zechariah 4:6) You say being over weight is not a spiritual thing? I think it is if it is excessive, and more if the Spirit convicts you of it, whatever "It" is. Our goal should be to embrace the reality that you if you are born again, you have a spiritual nature that supersedes the natural one. “It’s not by MY might or by MY power but by HIS Spirit”. What ever that "thing" is that hounds you, you can overcome it! You CAN overcome it! But not without His help.
"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." - 2 Corinthians 12:7
(There is so much more to write, but I fear that I have already surpassed the point of many people's willingness to read on) I save this for last. It is possible that like Paul, there is something that you ask God to remove and yet it persists. A thorn in your life that persists - as a reminder that we do have feet of clay and we are totally dependent on the One who sent His Son and His Spirit and gave us His Word looking forward to that Day.
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