Belong to Christ

"The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings."
~ Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV)

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
~ Galatians 5:24 (ESV)

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
~ Galatians 6:7-8 (NKJV)

To belong to Christ includes blessings unknown to those who do not confess Him as Lord: salvation from sin’s penalty of eternal death; relationship with God as Father; becoming a place where the Holy Spirit (and therefore the presence of God) resides.

But we share the curses of those who are not His. To belong to Christ does not immediately remove us from this world, nor exclude us from its suffering. To belong to Christ does not immediately set us free from mortal flesh and its sinful nature.

The more closely we identify with this world, the more we will experience the despair of suffering. The more we give in to the sinful and self-seeking desires of flesh, the more we will experience the temporal penalties of sin.

The more closely we identify with the Kingdom of God, the more we will know love, joy and peace in the face of suffering. The more we yield to the Spirit of God within us and crucify the desires of flesh, the more we will reap the fruit of everlasting life rather than the fruit of corruption from the seeds of our doings.

Father, how good You are to give us the armor we need to face the enemy when he attacks. How good You are to supply all we need to face a world of suffering and the temptations of flesh. Please teach us to depend on You and follow You—to sow seeds of life.

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Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.