A women in my small group said that if we struggle with obeying God, then we should question our salvation. I know her very well and understand what prompted her statement. However, I'm not sure I agree. I propose that our struggle is proof of our salvation. A person who is not born again doesn't struggle with obedience to God; he or she usually only struggles with the consequences of his/her actions.
I believe that what we're actually struggling with is our own willful nature, physical desires, emotional baggage or our own opinions and erroneous beliefs. Our non-spiritual self is like a two-year-old: "Mine!" "I will do it myself!" "I want it!" Imagine a two-year-old running your life. Not a pretty picture.
Like a parent with a strong-willed child, the power struggle goes on. Our ‘born again self’ knows what’s right and knows that the child within must not be allowed to have free reign. The problem comes because this child is loud, manipulative and usually throws some kind of temper tantrum. An embarrassing, frustrating, confusing situation.
When we are born again, the new person we become desires the things of God. When we're born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He has given us everything for life and godliness, according to 2 Peter 1:3.
When we encounter problems and we’re always worrying that we’re not born again because of it, we can't continue our journey with Jesus. There comes a time when we need to start really believing scripture when it says that Jesus Christ loves us supremely and that He will never stop loving us. There's nothing I can (or not do) do to lose (or gain) His love for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment