Mission Monthly Newsletter August 2002

...Meditate on These Things. Phillipians 4.8

"Eventually I was so into my [temper (passion)] that I really believed I was doing the right thing. And later it was like a bad habit, like not being able to stop smoking."

            An Anonymous Professional World Class Athlete  

I always appreciate stumbling across a statement that captures in a simple way an idea that is hard to describe or define.  In trying to describe or define “spiritual warfare with our passions” one rarely finds such ease, especially when trying (through self-examination) to explain or understand one’s own thoughts and behaviors.  In his letter to the Romans we see that even St. Paul struggled with this (lack of) understanding.  Simply put he said, “I do not understand my own actions” (7:15).  Whether or not one is able to clearly define his struggle does not take away from the reality of the struggle and the difficulties of dealing with it.  It is especially difficult when a person doesn’t realize they are struggling and is even blind to the concept of struggle, spiritual or otherwise.

     In Scripture, in relation to what we as Christians call “the fallen nature,” we hear of man’s condition of blindness and slavery; and we hear of how Jesus brought freedom to those bound by these defects, and ultimately freedom to all mankind from our greatest enemy, death.  Jesus gave physical sight to the blind man at the well of Siloam and He gave spiritual sight to the great Pharisee, Joseph of Arametha.  Jesus healed the ten lepers on the road from Samaria to Galilee and He healed Mary Magdalene of her spiritual sickness which had led her to a life of prostitution.  Jesus gave life again to His friend Lazarus who had been dead and decaying four days in the grave and He gave renewed spiritual life to Nicodemus in his desire for Truth and the Kingdom of God.  This fallen nature inherited from Adam and Eve’s disobedience is the great stumbling block to the Light and Life of God; and it is within the experience of this fallen nature that we face the greatest warfare known to man, the warfare for our souls.

     We all need to admit to having a limited knowledge of our sin.  This limited knowledge is a double-edged sword.  When we are blind to our sins we aren’t able to confess them.  However, the fact is that most of us are not ready to see the fullness of our sin and we need to thank God that He shields us from the great darkness that dwells in the hidden places within ourselves.  It is from this limited understanding, however, that we begin to face honestly and sincerely those areas of our lives that are most challenging to the pathway of holiness and salvation.

     What is it in this life that we are trying to accomplish by faith in God?  This question may not be as simple as it seems.  There are, however, some basic answers that a sincere faith should be able to give.  First, we must begin to accept this life as a gift from God and acknowledge that we are only stewards of something that belongs to another.  Second, we must admit that the relationship with God has been broken and that we have been placed under the consequence and authority of that brokenness.  Third, we must believe that God has never stopped loving us in our brokenness, and even sent His only-begotten Son to become one of us and accept scorn, rejection and murder at the hands of a rebellious and ungrateful people.  Finally, we must receive this Love together with God’s command to fight the consequences of our brokenness, continually seeking reconciliation with Him as His servants and not as gods of our own desire.           

     Our passions are so tricky and deceptive!  The above quote reflects how through athletics one can become so consumed with himself that even bad behavior can be believed to be the “right thing.”  One does not have to be in athletics, however, to know how easy it is to justify bad behavior.  We need to get past the denial of our sin and seek a willingness to accept the challenge to fight our bad thoughts and behaviors, believing and confessing that they are wrong and offensive to God.  Then and only then can we truly seek to change (whatever is in our power and, by God’s grace, whatever is not) in order that the holiness and virtue we also claim to believe in and confess may indeed become a foundation for good thoughts and behaviors and bear fruit for our salvation.