“The light shines in the
darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” – John 1:5
As I watch our grandchildren
develop, the fact that every one of them is born with a sinful nature is so
evident. No one taught them how to throw a temper tantrum, or how to be picky
with food, or to unroll all the toilet paper or how to get grouchy when they are tired. It all comes naturally. I
am happy to say that they eventually learn social skills as they mature. They
also learn self-discipline, so eventually their parents do not have to discipline them.
We are hopelessly lost in
darkness without Christ in our life, until the Holy Spirit comes to our rescue (John
1:5). As baby Christians we also have
some bad habits and we retain some carnality that needs discipline (Romans
1:29). Actually, it is God who gives us
both the desire and the will to live for His good pleasure (Philippians
2:13). He conforms us a little more each
day, through His sanctifying process, until we start to reflect the character
of Christ in our lives (Romans 8:29).
The problem baby Christians
often encounter is that some of those who profess to be Christians are actually
more sinful than people who live in the world. These pretenders have a false
hope of going to heaven because of a prayer they prayed, and they are oblivious
to their real need for Christ in their life (Jude 4). They drink, use foul language, live immorally and
fail to serve God with full devotion. They are poor examples to new Believers,
and they often encourage these babes in Christ to live in habitual sin as well.
However, as true Believers
come to know the Truth we walk away from sin. We follow Christ’s example in
life and share it with others just like Jesus did when He came to destroy the works of
the devil. Therefore, it is impossible for us to continue sinning when we are
truly born of God (1 John 3: 6-9). Instead we live for God’s glory and we submit to the
Holy Spirit as He transforms our behavior from carnal to Christ-like. God calls
us to live as light in the world of darkness and to spread the Good News of
salvation through Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen (Matthew
5:13-16).
Prayer:
Lord
Jesus, as we draw closer to You each day, we walk away from any behavior that
leads to personal gain or unholy activities. As we study the Word, we learn
more about You and what You expect from our lives. We also learn more about
Your character and how You want us to act and think. Help us to choose to live
lives without compromise, so that we can be salt and light in the dying world
around us.
Thought
for the Day:
No one who lives in Christ
Jesus keeps on sinning, and no one who continues to sin has any concept of who
Jesus really is.