Skip to main content

Gifts and Obligations



But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will
                                                          live. (Romans 8:10-13)
 
      Imagine seeing on the news that someone has been given a million dollar grant to create a special piece of art. What would you think of that person if he spent the million on lavish parties for his friends involving all that activities that you happen to think are sick, disgusting, depraved and illegal? Would his statement that the money was given to him and therefore he had a right to do with it whatever he wanted be all the justification you need? Would you pay him in advance for anything?
      This is the situation in this passage. Christ dwells in Christians. His Spirit lives in us. He gives us life. The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead gives us life. We have been given a magnificent gift. We did nothing to earn that gift, but now that we have it, we have an obligation to live in accordance with the purpose of the gift.
        This is always where the going gets tough. We all have misdeeds of the body. We all tend to be quick to excuse our body's misdeeds. It's genetic. It's just who we are. It's not our fault. It's socially acceptable now. Everybody does it. I don't like the idea of hearing "So what? It's a misdeed. Put it to death" about my not eating the way I should.  I know others don't like the idea of being told that about their sexual proclivities. I now giving up what we think is "natural" or "normal" isn't something we anticipate with joy. It's a battle that may continue for the rest of our lives.
 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On the Calendar:
President's Day
Susan B. Anthony Day
Birthday of
Galileo
Cyrus Hall McCormick (inventor and founder of the company that became International Harvester)      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more