This world is full of conflict; chaos and confusion are now the new 'norm.' It just occurred to me why I still hear so many believers spouting off about all the ills of society and the Church. It is because we see in-part and know in-part, mistakenly assuming that we are in possession of understanding the whole purpose of God, when in reality we still have only bits and pieces. It is one thing to have 'come-out' of the organized religions of men. Conformity and peer-pressure being what they are today, that in itself is no small accomplishment. But just because we 'come-out'... let us not assume that we have now made it. We are on the path, but we still have a long way to go. We have not 'arrived' yet. It usually takes as many years to get the 'church' out of us, as we spent being indoctrinated in it. By that I mean, that even though we may physically separate ourselves from organized religion we cannot help but take an incredible amount of baggage with us in our exodus. This becomes evident as time goes by, revealed by our speech, our attitudes, and our conduct. Judging others is one prime example. Just because the Spirit moved you to come out, does not mean that He has placed the same desire and longing in everyone else. We are all in varying stages of spiritual development, and we err when we mistakenly project our 'vision' on others in a critical, judgmental way, condemning them for not seeing what we see, or believing the way we believe. How many of us are actually walking in what we see and believe we know? We are trying to... which either results in our developing self-righteousness, where we succeed in convincing ourselves that we are doing all that God requires; or brings us to the full realization that we are incapable of keeping the commandments in our own strength.
Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" John 15:5. This is a toughy... since there are so many exemplary, noble, commendable things that we can do in our own strength. 'Self' cringes at being told that it can 'do nothing,' when that is not true, at least according to self's estimation. Then there are the multitudes of other like-minded individuals who are more than ready and willing to validate any and all of self's efforts and works as being commendable and wholly acceptable to God. We need to recognize that there is man’s way, and then there is God's way. Man's way always seems to makes more sense and be more appealing than God's way. The Word tells us in Proverbs 16:25 "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." So much for all of our logical thinking and accumulated knowledge. We could take a lesson from our brother Paul. He was full of knowledge according to the teachings of his day, and yet he proclaimed in Philippians 3:8 "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." Our very BEST is comparable to dung; worthless, waste byproducts of our fallen nature. All of our works may be pleasing and acceptable to men, but they can only fall short and fail to please God. This concept is hard for us to get a handle on. Paul went on to spell it out for us in Galatians 5:17, "For 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."
Here lies our conflict. The battle rages in our inner man... between our flesh, (our carnal mind, will, emotions, intellect) and the Holy Spirit of God working to renew our minds and transform us into the image of the Son of God.
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" John 3:5-8.
We have been called out to follow Christ; to walk by the power of His Spirit, not to do what seems good in our own eyes. The way of man is to build edifices, acquire a following, convert others to our way of thinking, to conform to a code of conduct, dress, etc., so that we can tell who is who. Although in some ways these things may contain beneficial qualities, they may improve one's quality of life in this world, they may make us 'feel better' about ourselves... but they are not meeting God's requirement. "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" 1 Peter 1:16.
Being religious is man's attempt to fulfill this command. The nature of man has not changed since the beginning... "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" Genesis 3:6. We simply cannot get our fill from eating of the tree of knowledge, but always want more. "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom" 1 Corinthians 1:22. We invariably forget that "... the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness" 1 Corinthians 3:19.
We are incapable of ever making ourselves holy. We have no problem making ourselves religious. We can accumulate mountains of knowledge pertaining to spiritual things. But holiness is a quality that only God possesses, and for man to be made holy, he must die to all that he is capable of, and live in and by the abiding Spirit of God instead of living according to the dictates of his flesh (own desires and understanding). Jesus said in John 14:23 "...If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." We must come to the place where we willingly lay down our life in this world. We must recognize beyond any shadow of doubt, that in ourselves we can do nothing... and seek to please God, instead of men.
"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us" 1 John 3:22-24. We are very capable of keeping the commandments of men, but when it comes to keeping the commandments of God, we fall short every time. We love our outward ordinances, our forms and traditions, all those things that build up our sense of security and acceptance, while dying to our flesh is something to be avoided at all costs. This is the 'me' generation. 'If it feels good, do it' is the slogan we grew up with. It is no accident that for years now we have been inundated with every form of 'self-help,' 'self-improvement,' 'self-exalting' medium conceivable.
We have one criteria by which to gauge who is of God and who is not...
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Romans 8:14.
Who do we love? What are our priorities?
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" Matthew 10:37-39.
As the world continues to spin out of control, with ever increasing strife and confusion, where will we turn in search of safety?
"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you" Philippians 3:9-15.
Are we prepared for revelations? Can we handle it when the spirit reveals that what we 'thought we knew' is wrong? Do we need to have all the answers and be right all the time? Or can we concede that is God's domain, and let the Spirit be our guide instead, even if we look foolish in the eyes of others?
As we press in to know Him, we will inevitably face conflicts; between what we have been taught, what we believe, and what is actually happening in our lives. When we hold expectations that fail to come to pass... how will we respond? Will we still follow Christ, or will we turn aside and seek an easier way? Tribulation and suffering are part of following Christ. "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" John 15:18. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" John 16:33. Conflict is inevitable... how will we respond?
