Proverbs 24: 20 NKJV
I'm always amazed at the christians I come across in my travels. I remember meeting a rough looking biker guy who I was almost possitive would be difficult to deal with, yet was one of the most gentle people I ever met. I recall in those days not so long ago where a fun night for me would be to spend my time at one of the strip clubs which portland is famous for. Yes, I was a man living a mans life. Was I also christian as well? Well, yes, at least that's what I would tell myself. The apostle Paul tells us about matters of our own behavior in 1 Corinthians 8. How would it look to one who is weak in their own christian faith and they see me walk into a strip club? Well, they may just be of the mind that if it's ok for a christian man like me to do then it would be ok for him as well. In a round about way, can you see how our own behaviors might affect those around us? I call this our heart condition. We might have an idea who it is that we are, but we might be mistaken as well. I know that I had the wrong idea of the man I was back in the day. In my mind I was a man first and a christian second. Let me stop here to point out that when I say that I knew I was a christian that I knew what religion I followed. Ok, that's out of the way. Make no mistake, knowing what religion we follow will in no way lead us into the understanding of who we truly are inside. I believe that not knowing the man I really was had a big impact on my own behavior in my younger days. In my mind I went to church so I was doing ok. That's part of our heart condition. Part of the discussion our group of men has on a regular basis is understanding the man in Christ we truly are. Once you come to the knowledge of who you really are, a lot of those things you used to partake in don't seem so enticing anymore. At least that's the way it was for me.
20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2: 20 NKJV
One of the questions I hear many christians ask when I talk to them about who they really are is "Can I still get a tattoo, can I still smoke, can I still gamble?" My first response is usually, yes, but why would you want to? Our own heart condition comes from our knowledge of the person we are in Christ Jesus. Who are we? Paul tells us that it is Christ who now dwells in us {Galations 2:20}. Yes, it is Jesus who makes His home inside of you. We are all that Jesus is. Whatever it is we go through, be it gambling, drinking or going to strip clubs, we do it as Christ who is in us. That is...if we know in our own hearts that He has made His home in us. As I said, once we have the realization of who we truly are, many of those behaviors we once engaged in become less appealing. For me, the question I would ask myself is, "Jesus, how do you feel about what I'm doing?" Once we know Jesus, we will most assuredly have that intimate relationship with His as well. There was a point after my own realization of Christ where my own behaviors were changed. That desire to visit the clubs was not as important to me as it used to be. Beleieve me, I've been through more church based pornography addiction seminars than I can count. None of them could do for me what my own realization Christ Jesus in me has done. I guess I could have saved myself some money had I known. Like I said, I had a heart condition. One of the biggest barriers to our own realization of Christ in us is the belief that God could never have a close, intimate relationship with me, a sinner. Relax, Jesus has already provided for that as well. For it is through the finished work of Christ that we are now dead to our old sin nature {Romans 6:6-11}. I recall a conversation I had with a friend of mine not too long ago. Our conversation turned to my strip club visits of days gone by. Those behaviors, I told him, just didn't do anything for me anymore. Really, there is nothing in the way of our own realization of who it is we really are. Can I still smoke and get a tattoo? Yes, but I'm not sure if Jesus would want to.
~Scott~
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