Romans 8: 9-11 NKJV
Learning something new is never the easiest of tasks. I realized this recently while learning the "Correct" way to play golf. Thankfully, I was blessed with a christian brother who has gently guided me along without too much over emphasis on my obvious lack of knowledge of the game. It is his gentle manner in which he has shown me the game which has once again peaked my interest in training myself to learn this game. I mean, without him I'd have a set of golf clubs gathering dust somewhere. In some ways, golf is a extremely unforgiving sport. Depending on if you swing the correct way, have the right stance and keep your eyes on the ball, you MIGHT just hit the ball well enough to give it a good go. There are alot of variables involved in this game. Now, I had tried my hand at golf a few years ago, but ended up with the wrong sized clubs. This only added to my misery. My swing, stance and approach I was using were alll wrong obviously. My performance reflected this by the way. It was against this backdrop in which I once again entered the arena of learning this game of kings. I have to say that my former hockey training had given me a unique golf swing, but it wouldn't "Fly" as they say. It was ok, but I obviously needed to retrain myself with the advice my friend Dennis continues to give me. This is where my learning curve truly started. Having my former habits ingrained in me, it has been a struggle to overcome that which I had practiced for so long. Of course, as Dennis and I often do, we try to realte struggles such as this to our christian life.
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6-11 NKJV
Like that awkward swing which had become so ingrained in my golf game, that sin in which I was born into may at times seem part of me still. And why not, since I was born into iniquity, wouldn't it be a struggle to overcome it? But wait, we no longer need to struggle in this. For Christ Jesus has single handedly forgiven our sins AND put to death that "Old man" which we were born into so long ago. No longer are we sinners saved by grace, but Gods chilren created in His very image. Yes, we have always been His children, but we also carried with us that penalty of sin. But God, being rich in mercy, even while we were still sinners, sent His son to die for us. Yet, why do we continue to have these fleshly desires from time to time? Yes, we are created in Gods very image, as Christ Jesus was also. However, in order for Jesus to walk among us, His Spirit image which was the very image of God needed a container to reside in. This was His flesh, that same flesh container which we have. Of course, our containers were not always filled with the Spirit of Christ Jesus. For before we trusted in Jesus, our containers were the domain of the "spirit of the power of the air."
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according t the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding richness of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1-6 NKJV
It is with this former part of our past in which we struggle daily. It is this part of us which ultimately needs to be retrained in the ways of Christ Jesus. For it is Christ who now resides within us whom our flesh will now exhibit. That doesn't mean that our "Old man" will not rear his head from time to time. Like that golf swing reminiscent of my old hockey playing days, it takes time and effort to retrain the old habits.
~Scott~
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