The Root Of It All

If I can be honest, whenever I'm reading Scripture and I get to a passage that is listing the attributes of the unrighteous such as hatred, greed, malice, decietfulness, sexual impurity,ect, I always get out a mental check list. As I'm reading I'm thinking, "Ok. Don't do this. I'm not supposed to do this. Christians don't do this so I can't either." My focus becomes the absence of these things rather than these things being the fruit of a Spirit filled follower of Christ. It's easier to look at the Scriptures as what I need to do to "be in good with God." This is completely contrary to what God desires for our lives. Yes He wants the absence of these things in our lives, but not as the means to salvation but the fruit of it. If when reading these lists of attributes of the unrighteous we see areas that our lives don't match up with, we shouldn't just try harder next time. The problem is not that we do these things, it's that there is something very twisted and wicked within us that reveals itself through these things. It's similar to a tree and it's fruit. Chopping down all the fruit of a tree doesn't keep fruit from being produced. If you want to stop the fruit from being produced you have to uproot the tree. It's the same with us. Our fruit is the attributes we have weather good or bad and the only way to cure the real problem is to uproot the tree, namely our wicked hearts. The catch is that we don't have the power within us to do that. God is the only one with the power to change our hearts and the fruit produced. So when we see anything in the Bible that contradicts our lives, that's a sign that we need to seek God diligantly in repentance for His Spirit to change our hearts. A constant tweaking of actions only mocks our God who sees the intents of our hearts. So, next time you're reading the Scriptures (which I'm hoping is often) and you see a commandment that isn't being kept in your life, don't just write it off as something you need to try harder at next time. Instead, I urge you (and me), to stop and plead with the God of heaven, who has the power to give life and take it away, for a renewed heart that reflects the heart of Christ.


In His Love,
matt j