We can have a choice...


Romans 6:11-16

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?



We are born into a sin filled world. We “take possession” of a sin filled body. We live our lives striving to fulfill the lusts of our bodies desires on a daily basis. It is when we come to the point of realizing our wicked state that we are presented with a different choice. We read or hear that Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day. It was His love for us and the relationship with us that He desires that drove Him to this decision.

When God created man He did not intend for us to live a temporal life and die to spend life in Hell (which was created for the angels who rebelled against Him). His intention was for us to willfully live a life that allowed us to love Him, get to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. In order for this to happen, there had to be a free will. Sure, God could not have placed the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, but then where would the free will come into play? Did God place temptation? No, He placed the tree and made a rule. One rule. And man could not keep it. It was not until Satan tempted Eve that the rule was questioned. Until the lies of Satan, man had made the choice not to touch the tree. Satan brought about the questioning of God’s law and therefore man chose to listen to the lies and plunged the world into a desire for sin.

Once we are saved by the blood of Christ, we are again presented with the choice to do what is right. The difference is that now we get to choose to live a life pleasing to Christ or pleasing to our flesh. We have been a slave to our emotions and desires. We have done nothing but do that which pleased us. Sure, there have been “acts of kindness or love” that we may have done. But often this was to appease a feeling of guilt deep within us or for the receiving of accolades from our peers. Now we have a choice to do what is right even when it goes against every thought, desire, or counsel of our peers. God wants us to bring glory and honor to Him. He told us that if we desired to do that, the world would hate us. However, He promised to be with us through it all.

Often, I wish that my flesh would shut up and leave me alone. I have made a choice to follow Christ because I realized how sinful I truly am. I look at myself and see such sin. I look at those I have been privileged to have in my life and see so much pain that I have caused. I could continue to look at who I was and what I have done and still do and cause myself to fall into feelings of woe, depression, and guilt; or I can look to Christ and what He has done for me. Look at the love He has shown me. Look at the work He is doing in my life. There is the strength I need to continue to do what is right. There I see love, mercy, and grace. There I see hope.

I get to choose what I am going to “feed” now. My selfish desires or my desire to please God. I make this choice all day long. Yes, I still sin and make choices to please my flesh. But thanks be to God, I make choices to please Him. If it was not for Him, I would never have this choice. If it was not for His love, I would continue to constantly feed the sinful desires of my flesh not caring how it affected others. I am not perfect and never will be as long as I live. I can become a better person than I was yesterday. I can make one more decision to please God instead of myself. I can because of the power of Christ living within me.

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