Thursday, March 28, 2013

Oh, Contraire


Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked” Gen 3:7.

Have you ever had a dream that you were in public and realized you were missed some or all of your clothes?  On several occasions I have had that dream which is full of panic and chaos.  There is actually a moment in the dream where this realization occurs and the entire course of the dream is altered.  The dream’s focus becomes about covering up.  Those feelings of panic and realization were experienced by Adam and Eve as their decision to eat from the forbidden fruit ushered in sin, altering the course of humanity.  Up until that point, they didn’t even realize that they were naked…never considered that their flesh was showing.  It took them surrendering to the flesh to expose the weakness of the flesh.

I can’t tell you the number of times that I wasn’t even aware that I was walking in the flesh until I participated with the flesh.  Like Adam and Eve, as long as they walked with God in the garden they experienced freedom and favor.  Once they participated with their flesh, Satan used this to separate mankind from God until eternity.  It is scary to think that our surrender to sin could affect so many others like in the garden.  The inclination of our flesh will always pull in the opposite direction of what the Holy Spirit seeks to help us do’ Jonah - Navigating a Life Interrupted, p. 137. 

While we cannot be perfect in our walk there must be intentional efforts to live a life led by the Spirit of God.  We must dress each morning with the righteousness of God through Christ, displaying the fruit of God’s Spirit which contradicts the fruit of the flesh.    Every time we lean into the flesh we realize our nakedness, but when leaning into the Spirit we realize our potential for righteousness.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature is contrary to the Spirit…They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.’ Gal. 5:16-17.

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