Paul laments in his writings over his lack of
success at overcoming the flesh. In some letters, he records that he feels
utterly hopeless and he criticizes his own moral fiber.
He struggles with putting on the mind of Christ and
realizes the wretchedness of his humanity. He fought with our need to be holy,
and his inability to reach this level of desired consecration to God (Romans
7:19-24).
His conclusion is surprising (Romans 7:25). He was
thrilled to realize that we do not have to suffer under the weight of
condemnation any longer. On Calvary’s Cross, Christ already set us all free
from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).
Paul calls the Galatians foolish for trying to
perfect their life in their own self effort. He reminds them that we could not
save our self and we cannot perfect our self either (Galatians 3:1-3).
Just as the Son could do nothing of Himself, we too
are nothing without Christ in us (John 5:19, 15:5). The only effort we need to
make in order to walk in the reality of this victory is to totally surrendering
control of our life to God.
In doing this, we successfully enter His rest
(Hebrews 4:3), cease from our striving and simplify our life. We eliminate the
busyness that pervades each day and we slow down our pace.
We dedicate time in our schedule to serve God with
our entire being, with all of our affections, thoughts, choices and emotions.
We give God the glory, which is due to His name;
and we walk in paths of righteousness for His name's sake (Psalm 23:3). We
refuse to hide our light under a basket, but we allow it to shine for the world
to see (Matthew 5:14-16).
Prayer:
Father God, You exalted Jesus with a name above all
other names. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He
is Lord (Philippians 2:9-10). You designed us to be buried with Him through
baptism into His death.
In the same way in which You raised Him from the
dead through Your glory, You raise us too in order for us to live a new life
through You. We are no longer slaves to sin, because You set us free from sin’s
power when we died with Christ on Calvary’s cross (Romans 6:4-7).
Thought for the Day:
Just as God the Father, Son and Spirit are united
as one, Jesus died so we can share in this same unity of oneness with our
triune God. - 1 Corinthians 6:17
