S)"24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Galatians 5:24 (NASB)
O) This is obviously a metaphorical crucifixion, but the imagry couldn't be more clear. The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross was that of ultimate obedience and selflessness. If you read through the last week's verses, you saw that Jesus wanted so much to not die on the cross, that He asked the Father twice if it was possible to avoid it. Nevertheless, He understood the stakes. He chose, with considerable effort, to literally be crucified despite whatever passions and desires were there at the time. In this way, He remained sinless and paved the way for us to do the same. A few verses before this, in v.16, we see that by the Spirit of God, we are not subject to the desires of the flesh, but it can take considerable effort at times.
A) This is not an easy verse. Where it gets particularly hard is the fact that the "passions and desires" are pretty open-ended. I mean, when I see the acts of the flesh, as listed in Galatians 5:19-21, those all seem pretty obvious, but what about things that aren't as overt? For example, drunkenness is listed there, but over-eating is not; however, if I stuff myself completely full at dinner, it's for no ther reason than because the food tastes good. How is that not eating according to the desires of my flesh? When I "feel" like doing something, I need to carefully consider my motives. It's okay to enjoy things, but I need to determine if I am letting my flesh have its way, or if I have appropriately slayed it with it's desires.
P) Father, I want my life to accurately reflect my subjection to Your sovereignty. You are a holy God who requires a holy people, but in Your justice, You are good and gracious. Thank You for giving me Your Spirit to empower me in crucifying my flesh and it's passions and desires. Holy Spirit, help me walk this out today, and every day. I want to live according to the Father's plans because I know Your ways lead to the best possible outcome, LORD. I will give You all of my passions and desires, God. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment