Sunday, January 22, 2012

Living in the Spirit.

This morning I woke up and immediately my thoughts jumped to the list of things I could do with my day. I thought of the potential plans I made with a couple friends and who I would need to text to make those plans happen. I thought of what I wanted to eat for breakfast. I thought about the homework I needed to accomplish. Throughout the day I have had similar thoughts, what to eat for lunch and dinner, what my plans are for tomorrow... And then I'm falling asleep planning ahead for the next day, setting my alarm for church in the morning, thinking about what to wear the next day...

And then I think of my Creator. I start praising Him for who He is and what I have to be thankful about from the day. On certain days I will have spoken with Him quite a bit throughout the day, but on others I have waited, pushing Him off for no good reason.

That's sortof a struggle I tend to have even on days I've spent time reading the Word. It can be easy at times to read the Word and not really spend time in relationship with God. That's my practical mind at work. I think practically often because decisions need to be made, responsibility is to be lived up to, money is to be made, basic needs need to be met. And then I realize I am focusing much on figuring everything out and attempting to control each aspect of the day. I expect to have my needs met, my hunger, my financial needs, my need for love. I am so focused on the need to meet my desires of the flesh that I don't even think about the desires on the Lord's heart, the desires of the Spirit.

I've been reading lately in Romans. It's a really amazing book because of the active faith it calls one to have. It is convicting and helps me understand at least a little bit more that God is so loving. He just wants us to surrender all we have and all we are to Him in order to love the people He has made....Part of doing this is living by the Spirit. Romans 8:5-7 says, "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God"

As Christians, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift, we have the promise that we are never alone as we have Him in us to guide us, protect us, and live in and through us. As Christians, it should be part of our daily life to ask God to reveal His heart to us. We should be willing to sacrifice our daily routines to minister to another.

In my last post, I included a quote from C.S. Lewis. In this quote, Lewis challenges the reader to think about the desire each person has to be known, to be individual. It's funny to me how often I hear about people trying so hard to be "different" or "good" that they end up looking just the same, or even worse. Lewis challenges his reader in the same way Paul challenges the Philippians in another book of the Bible he wrote. They both say that the only way to live in real life is to loose it. We must loose our lives in Christ in order to find it. What does this mean?

Surrendering to His will. In everything. If I decide to become a doctor but become hostile because I am focused on being the best and unique doctor in order to make the most money, I'm really seeking the desires of the flesh. I'm really not seeking to bring God the glory in everything I do.

And that's the meaning of purposeful life: Bringing God all the glory. Money is worthless when it's not spent honoring God. Relationships with other human beings are worthless when they are self focused.

So what does this mean in our lives? How do we live in the Spirit and still live balanced and responsible lives?

Just as stated before, all we do and say needs to be surrendered to God. One of my roommates always finishes her before-meal prayers saying "may you bless our food to our bodies and our bodies to your service". Of course we need to use our practical minds to do things, like eat, but when we have the blessing of food that is nourishing to our bodies we should be thank God for His blessings and be asking that our energy from the food would be glorifying to Him.

To some, living in the Spirit sounds limiting.
Living in the Spirit does include death, death of self-focused living. But it includes so much life.

Google dictionary defines life as "The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, functional, activity, and continual change preceding death; living things and their activity;... the period between the death and death of a living thing, especially a human being"

These definitions make me feel sad. First off just look at how many times the word death was used in those three definitions. Ridiculous. Life, as intended by God, is such a beautiful thing. It includes mystery, advancing of the mind, and immense love.

Genesis 2:7 says, "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being". God breathed life. He just BREATHED LIFE! How incredible is that? That is what I mean by mystery. We were created out of love because it brought joy to the Lord to breathe life into us. His desire for His creation is that we would  live in joy and peace because of the beauty and power and grace His Spirit gives us. Just think of a parent. The desire of a parent is for his or her child to experience joy, to find purpose, and to feel fulfillment. I may not be a parent now, but from the way my parents see me I can see how as a parent I would never want my child to go down a road of destructive decisions that lead to disappointment, hurt, and loneliness. As a parent who has watched her child take his first steps and mutter his first words, I can't imagine that I wouldn't want my child to experience life in its purest and most joyful way. Think about how God feels. The One who breathes life, the One who breathes joy, grace, and peace.

Why, as a child of God, would I want to be separated from the One who gives so much peace?

This peace is not something that can take away deep experiences of pain, but it is a gift from God that is unexplainable and intangible and makes one able to cope with hurt. This peace is a gift from God that comes from surrendering to His will. In Romans 8, Paul says we can either be governed by the flesh or governed by the Spirit. Being governed by the flesh does not satisfy because it does not include God's peace.

Later on in Romans 8, Paul goes on to say the Holy Spirit groans for us and intercedes for us in our weaknesses. Knowing this gives me a sense of hope and peace that in difficulty, my heart is not alone when it is heavy. The Holy Spirit is groaning with me, expressing words I cannot formulate. The Holy Spirit is bringing peace to me as I submit to the Lord.

So here's what I am thanking God for as I'm climbing back into bed from this busy day...I am thanking Him for peace. I'm thanking Him for governing my mind and asking that He continue to do so, so that I may be less anxious. I'm thanking Him for the gift of the Spirit, that I am not alone because of the Holy Spirit in my heart that is groaning for the things I don't know how to express. And I'm asking Him to guide my heart, that it may feel for others in ways that are unnatural for it to do apart from God. And as I'm inhaling and exhaling air, I'm reminded of His breath of life.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Well Said

“Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom, Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity