So consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ – Romans 6:4
Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. -- Colossians 3:5
I’ve talked about this before, but I still haven’t gotten it right myself, so I’m back. I am aware of the fact that I cannot “put to death” all of this stuff on my own. I, like most Christians, have prayed for the grace of God to operate in my life. I have prayed often that the Spirit would enable me to die to self. However, when there is an opportunity to “put to death whatever ... is worldly”, I fight it. Usually, my problem is that I do not like the form this death takes. I want to say a few magic words – oops, I mean I want to pray and be delivered – or maybe pray, take a nap, and wake up holy, talking like Billy Graham or speaking Latin like the Pope.
What I absolutely don’t want to do is get into a conflict with another person – some control freak or someone I don’t like, and have to give in, to let them think they have “won”. Whatever the Lord wants to do is fine with me, but I’m not surrendering to other people.
Back in First Chronicles 21, we read that David sinned by taking a census of his people. I think this was wrong because it would lead to David trusting his poll numbers instead of the Lord. Anyway, when God’s word came to David by the prophet, the Lord offered the king three choice – three years of famine, three months of losing battles to his enemies, or three days of plague (what is with three?). David threw himself on God’s mercy. “Please let me fall into the LORD’s hands because His mercies are very great, but don’t let me fall into human hands” (v.13).
While that is what I prefer, a friend of mine used to say that if you need money, God will provide, but, He has to use other people. God, my friend explained, is not a counterfeiter, and He is not going to rain twenty-dollar bills from heaven. I suggested He could rain gold coins instead, though I’ll admit that could get dangerous: As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly. We might as well get used to it and understand that, normally, God does not work so directly. He is in complete control, especially if we give Him permission to be in control of our lives; nevertheless, He deals with us through other people, by their words and their actions -- both good and bad. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17). We are being shaped by -- and at the same time shaping -- those around us. The intent is not to make us comfortable or happy (joyous, not necessarily happy) but to form us into the image of the Son.
For example, I kept noticing that I ran into and had trouble with a certain type of person. These were usually overbearing, manipulative women. I thought, Dayum, there sure are a lot of female control freaks out there in the world. Now, I’m pretty good at solving technical problems, but I never claimed to catch on quickly otherwise. I ran, but I couldn’t hide. As Jesus says, our enemies will be those of our own household. When I didn’t learn to deal with these characters in church, I found them at work. When I didn’t learn to deal with them at work, I found myself living next door to them. When I moved to get away from them, I found one living in the same house -- like in the mother-in-law suite.
In my case, there’s a certain amount of arrogance I need to get rid of, but I also have a lack of confidence and healthy self-worth. I need humility and gentleness with strength – also known as meekness. Your need may not be meekness, but if you find yourself running into the same types over and over, or if you get caught in a repetitive pattern of any sort, the issue may not be all those jerks out there, it may be that God is answering your prayers for sanctification. It is amazing that God is able to do such beautiful work with such dull implements, but it is the Master’s hand that guides all that scary chipping and scraping and grinding. He is carefully cutting away until He sees you.
8 comments:
Mushroom hunter "massacre" claims 18 lives in Italy.
We always try to make them look like accidents.
And then there is this.
I saw it while driving home a few days ago and couldn't stop laughing. They had it on the local news last night.
Some days, Mush, it all sounds so easy -- don't let people "get to me". Like right now, I just don't have the energy. Yet there are some people "I let" get to me. The same ones. All the time. That's more work. I don't want to get upset. I don't enjoy it.
So why do I do it?
His cross is light, and all that..It's true. Yet..I forget.
O! Do I say it often, God has a lot of patients, I mean, patience.
What's he gonna do with us, Mush..
RE, that billboard, after I stop laughing too, I don't like it. It's gonna make it harder for them to vote correctly next time. We need as many as we can get..
Yes, that's good. It does not seem all that easy and light.
I want easy to mean the magic words, to have steps like assembling a bicycle or a grill or something. I can live with "some assembly required"; I could work that out.
But I go back to John 15 where Jesus is talking about the Vine and the branches. I have some grapevines we planted a couple of years ago and we had no grapes. So last fall, I pruned them. Not enough, but some -- because my wife wanted the vines -- I want grapes. I had a few grapes. I going to prune them again this fall, and next year -- the Lord willin' -- I'll have more grapes.
How many times to we talk about Christian "growth" when we should be talking about maturity. I want to grow, like my grapevine wants to grow -- all over the fence. But the issue is being what He wants.
If He were trying to make us what we want, He would lose patience, but that's not what He doing. He keeps cutting back and cutting back until we become what He wants.
I think I'm an abject failure because I can't do more and be "better".
As difficult as it is to believe these days, Jesus must be right when He says, Relax. It really is easy. Perfection equals maturity.
Mushroom,
Thanks for this very timely and relevant post. My friend Cliff Stewart and I, who write the blog Kingdom Triangle together, were just talking about this subject yesterday. It aint easy dealing with certain kinds of people, but you really put it all in perspective. Thanks.
By the way, would you consider beciming a contributor to the Kingdom Triangle? It is easy. We give you the keys to the Kingdom blog, and whenever you post here, just cut and paste it over there, also.
I'm honored, Bob. I'm not sure it's a good idea, but I guess you all have a delete button.
I think I understand, Mush.
An example maybe: It is still difficult for me to go to that new church I found. Difficult for me to know at all times that I am going for the right reasons. I know He wants me to go. And to not go out of guilt, but out of love. Unknown Friend said, "they are not commandments, but divine human pleas." I believe that. I can't not believe it. I know it. He wants me to do His will because (I think) He knows it is what's best for me (of course, also best for everyone). And where I will ultimately, and only, find peace -- if I want it.
It's somewhat circular logic: I shouldn't do my will, He wants me to do His, which just so happens to be in my best interest, I just don't know what's best for me, so in doing His, I do what is really mine :-) Or something..
But also, in a way, or when I'm in the right frame of mind, it doesn't seem so paradoxical and that it can't possibly be any other way and still hold the Cosmos together or keep it from collapsing or maintain life itself. Or as Bob might say, "what kind of Cosmos would this be if it weren't like this?" Somehow, we seem to know intuitively or instinctively that this is true.
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