This post is one of my favorites – originally posted in early 2014. The message applies to my life as much now as it did when I wrote it. I trust it will encourage and challenge you today!
Do we consider Jesus?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about human behavior and the sin nature. When I think of the struggle between my fleshly desires and God’s desire for me, I can easily see why God tells us, in order to live in the spirit; we must die to the flesh.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:13-24 (emphasis mine)
The bottom line is that it’s like oil and water. Our flesh and our spirit don’t mix. This is why I am perplexed when someone claims to come into a relationship with Christ and there is no regeneration that begins to occur in his or her life? They go living in the sin God saved them from, doing what God says in His Word is wrong.
I have seen in my own life that God requires an ongoing surrender of my ways, habits, desires and thoughts. Through conviction God reveals to me what fleshly behavior He desires me to put to death in order that His life may be revealed in me. Then I have a choice to make. I don’t always make the right choice, but God is long suffering. He is always at work in me.
Early in my walk with Jesus, when tempted to sin I would consider, “What would Jesus do?” In fact, this is a slogan that became pretty big in the Christian community several years ago. It was on t-shirts, bracelets, etc. It read WWJD. The idea was, if you find yourself betwixt two decisions, consider…”What would Jesus do?”
PINIMAGEWhile I admit this approach was often effective at the time, now, many years into my walk with the Lord, I am not so much considering, “What would Jesus do” as much as I am simply “considering Jesus”.
In doing so, I’ve learned a few things:
- Considering Jesus means learning more about Him: His likes and dislikes. Seeking to bring Him delight. The focus is Him – Not my behavior.
- Considering Jesus causes me to grow deeper in my love for Him. As I learn about Him through His Word, I realize the “why” behind the act of obedience. I see all the wonderful things about Him and the wonderful desires He has for me.
- Considering Jesus, over time, becomes the default when faced with sin. Because, in considering Him and learning more about who He is and His love for me, I have a growing desire to please Him and live in His righteousness.
I remember in my early twenties being asked on a date. I was excited to go and wondered what was planned for the evening. When my date picked me up, he took me to a go-kart track. Those who know me know that I would like that type of adventure. Here’s the catch. In order to ride the go-karts, you had to pre-purchase a special “go-kart license”. He already had one in his wallet. Apparently, he spent a lot of time there. And so, my date left me on the bleachers while he rode.
As his car whirled around the track, thoughts whirled in my mind. “If he was interested in me, you’d think he might want to do what I enjoyed. At the very least, you think he’d want to include me in the fun and not leave me on the sideline.” Did he love me? No. But in case I had any doubt, his actions confirmed it.
It’s funny that this silly memory came back to me from so long ago. But do we think very much about what pleases Jesus? Do you know what He delights in?
Have you invited Jesus into your everyday life only to have Him sit on the bleachers?
What spurs me on to godly living is considering Jesus.
Mark and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage in August. He loves me. He knows my likes and dislikes, big and small. He knows how I like my coffee. He knows my favorite candy. He knows I have a strong dislike for spiders. We have grown together through joys and hardships. Over the years love has not always been the natural expression. There have been times when love had to be a choice. In those times, when it was hard to love, he expressed selfless love because he was considering me. We aren’t perfect. Our marriage isn’t perfect. But whenever we consider each other, there is harmony and growth.
The same is true when I consider Jesus. 2 Peter 1:3-8 says,
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. (emphasis mine)
Are you wondering how to live out the Christian life? Are you striving to “be a good Christian” man or women? Stop focusing on your actions or inaction. Consider Jesus. Considering Jesus may mean forsaking a behavior, habit or direction. Considering Jesus may mean saying yes to a command you’ve been ignoring. Considering Jesus may mean changes big and small. But when you consider Him, you see all the wonderful things that He is. You see He is your strength, your hope, and your life.
How does one live right in this fallen world? Have you considered Jesus?
