The Hideout

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. – Romans 13:11-14

Sometimes it is hard to believe that we have a choice.  Sometimes we feel compelled to do the wrong thing.  “I just snapped” as Mike Tyson famously pronounced after taking out a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear.  I actually have some empathy for the Mike formerly known as Iron.  I got so frustrated the other day about something that I grabbed a floppy house shoe and beat the wall.  It made no sense whatsoever, but it got rid of some adrenaline, and I was calmer afterward.  Plus because I didn’t use my fist like I used to, I didn’t have to fix a hole.  I really need to break down and buy a heavy bag. 

The truth is, though, that we always have a choice.  Where our problem comes is that we do not always make the choice at the right point.  Once we start to go down the dead-end road or the one where the bridge is out, our choices are more limited and possibly more painful. 

The right decision is the one I can make in the light.  My mind has two sides.  No, not dumb and dumber, although I can understand where some folks might get that idea -- the light side and the dark side, or the flesh and the Spirit.  Perhaps the thing that confuses me is that there is not always a conflict between the two sides.  There are times when I want to do what I ought to do, or I ought to do what I want to do.  Everything is harmonious. 

Other times, I’d kind of like to slip something by over on the dark side.  My siblings are between thirteen and seventeen years older than I am.  I was probably still in grade school when I happened across a stash of my brother-in-law’s “men’s magazines” – nothing very extreme, Argosy and stuff like that, but they had different theme than Outdoor Life and Sports Afield.  I was reading one of the articles in the attic when my sister came up and caught me, almost.  I shoved the magazine under an old mattress.  She asked me what I was doing, and I made up some farfetched story which even she wasn’t dumb enough to believe.  I don’t know if I would have gotten in much trouble, but I didn’t want to find out.  Perhaps more importantly, and what I’m trying to get at is that I didn’t want to risk losing access to my dirty little secret.

I think that’s a lot of my problem with walking in the Spirit.  I don’t want to completely eliminate my access to the dark side.  I just want to be able to toy with it a little, mull it over, like Billy Ray Cyrus (it may take a while to get that one and all you'll do is groan).  Walking in the light twelve hours a day is not that hard.  I don’t even think walking in the light 23 hours and 45 minutes a day is too much for me to handle.  I just don’t want to give up that last fifteen minutes.  I want to keep a little old nature preserve, over there in the shadows. 

Who Are You?

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. – 1 John 3:1

Paul warned the church at Corinth against isolating itself from the world (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). He told Christians to shun those who call themselves “believers” yet continue to live in licentiousness and immorality. The purpose of such rejection is to awaken the alleged believer to the incongruity of his or her position. On the other hand, Paul says there is nothing wrong in associating with those of the world who are greedy or immoral. We expect them to live as they do, and we are primarily in the world to be salt and light. Our association with the ungodly provides them with a positive example and a new perspective which may infect them with love of the Truth.

It should not come as a surprise to us that, in spite of our best efforts – or perhaps because of our best efforts in the Spirit, the world does not recognize us. Having never known our Father, how could they see the resemblance in the sons and daughters? To them our beliefs and behavior makes no sense. They ridicule our naiveté and mock our faith. People who call themselves Christians have given the world plenty of ammunition through hypocrisy. Yet, what often gets quickly labeled as hypocrisy by the worldly watchers is only the stumbling misstep of a child learning to walk.

Walking in the Spirit is impossible for fallen man, and it is far from easy even for the redeemed. Though we have trusted in the work of the Cross and been reborn in spirit, and even though our spirit is now in union with God and a temple of His Spirit, it is tough to rely on those new spiritual appendages. If pigs did sprout wings, I wonder how many of them would really try to fly.

We have been transformed whether those around us recognize it or not. It is the truth and remains the truth. We cannot allow the opinions of those who have no knowledge of our new life to keep us pinned in the mud when we are now creatures of a different medium.

Cagematch with the Mountain

The Spirit is the One who give life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life – John 6:63

On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’ -- Matthew 7:22-23

Whatever it born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit – John 3:6

The flesh can build buildings, but it can’t build the kingdom.

The flesh can raise money, but it cannot lay up treasure in heaven.

The flesh can increase membership and teach morals, ethics, and good behavior, but it cannot make new creations.

The flesh can preach inspirational and motivational messages, but it cannot change the heart of man.

The flesh can wield political power and get out the vote, but it is spiritually dead and powerless.

In fact, man in his fallen configuration can be a very powerful force for good in the sense of achieving material progress and offering help to his fellow man. Conversely, the human soul apart from the Spirit is capable of great evil, self-justification, self-righteousness, self-aggrandizement, and God-defying arrogance.

The more talented we are, the more intellectual capacity we have, the more we are likely to rely on our own strengths rather than upon the Spirit as He indwells us and empowers us. Those who are wise in this world are tempted to be less dependent upon God and His guidance. To walk in the Spirit, the wise do not need to become foolish. They need only to lay aside all they know and understand in themselves and seek the wisdom that is from above. “My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts,” said the Lord to the prophet Isaiah.

I have no desire to criticize what others do, their motives, their intentions, or their accomplishments. For my part, I think I would rather do nothing than operate in the power of the first Adam. I may not be able to always adhere to that standard. My surrender may be lacking. I may take up the banner of self from time to time under duress and pressure, but it is not my intent to do so.

My prayer today is that I may accept all that comes as from the Lord, and that I may not lean on my own understanding but upon Him.