Dear friend,
We are called to be ruthless in the matter of dealing with sins and evil in our lives. In the Chinese proverbs, there is a saying that when a man would get rid of a patch of grass, he has to be ruthless - not only to cut off the leaves of it, but also all its roots. Of course, when this principle is applied in a revenge scenario among men, it is very sad and evil, as a man would completely wipe out his enemy without leaving a seed behind to take revenge later. It is right never to apply such a principle in dealings with human beings. But, when we treat sins and evil like human, we are in for perpetual troubles. Problems are not really solved when we do not go to the root of the problem. The keep surfacing and we make no progress as a result.
Thus the Lord instructed Moses: "If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; ... those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell." (Num. 33:55) And so it was that where Joshua and the children of Israel failed to drive out the enemies, these came back as thorns to God's people in the generations to come. The battles fought in the Old Testaments era were all types and symbols of the spiritual battes we are presently fight. Now, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph 6:12)
That is how we must fight the "good fight of faith." (1Ti. 6:12) We deal with principles, thoughts and ideologies. "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, ... and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2Co. 10:4-5) That is the reason for having the Word of God to be "a lamp to our feet and a light ot our path." In His light we see light for our journey to Heaven. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD." (Psa. 1:1, 2)
The physical doing of two persons may be exactly the same, but the spiritual and ethical values of those actions may be totally different. One is full of lusts and the flesh while the other of love and the Spirit. As Christian believers, "we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." (Rom. 8:12-13) "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal. 5:17) If you are aware of such a battle going on within your soul, then you ought to "mortify the deeds of the body" so that "ye shall live."
What kind of conquerors are we? (Rom. 8:37)
Do read the Holy Scriptures for yourselves in the free Daily Light on Daily Path for this day at http://soshine.blogspot.com/2008/01/daily-light-on-daily-path-january.html#Jan31M.
lck
No comments:
Post a Comment