As part of the New Testament Challenge here at Northridge, I was reading in Romans yesterday. Romans is one of my favorite books-very challenging and not necessarily an easy read. Paul's letter lays some pretty hardcore truths out there for us and certainly hits home in a lot of ways.
In Romans 8 Paul writes about the battle of the Spirit versus the flesh. He says that if we focus on the things of the Spirit that we find life & if we are emphasizing the flesh that we find death. I think the parallel is pretty clear in terms of where we place our faith-if your main emphasis is on seeking pleasure and not finding God's will and purpose it will most certainly lead to a less than pleasant end.
I honestly believe that it refers to our mindset as well. If we were to truly analyze what it was that we were focusing on regularly & where we were putting our energies we would see definitive differences. When our focus is on the leadings of the Spirit we find ourselves more at peace and able to cope with difficulties. When our focus is on the leadings of our own desires & other parts of that earthly battle, we struggle in everything-relationships, patience, satisfaction, self-confidence, etc. God was telling us this not to condemn us, but to protect us. He knows what is best.
So the big question is then-what are you thinking?
No comments:
Post a Comment