I heard a pastor suggest we not be “taking our spiritual temperature” all the time.
It can become an obsession constantly questioning ourselves, making ourselves crazy thinking we have to become good enough for God. Or that we have to stay good enough, or however you want to say it.
Our reconciliation to God is found in Jesus Christ's life, His righteousness, His obedience death, alone, having believed. If we try to switch that over to ourselves, as if somehow we have our hand on the spigot, and we have to figure whether we are OK with God or not, and if not, we've got to figure how to make it right again, well, I put that behind me, in faith that Jesus has reconciled me to God. Jesus never changes, so His ministry to me never never never changes, and He remains my High Priest FOREVER! Always always interceding for me!
Can you imagine?
Every out of control act, errent thought, work of the flesh, forever and always He intercedes for me! This is the joy of salvation. I am comletely free to be with my Father, my Brother, free to know my Creator, the peace and joy that is in this thought is inexpressible!
Law provokes sin, because sin is hostile to God. Living according to the knowledge of Good and Evil was not God's original design. God's original design was innocence with liberty. And He included 1 test, that if failed, would require correction. This is nothing different than is in our lives.
God gives us tests. If we do the right thing, we've become more firm in our new creation. If we do the wrong thing, we receive correction. Maybe just the emptiness of something that has no value, maybe the pain of something harmful. All these tests/temptations we get through our lives are there to show where we need work, and contribute towards our repair.
God gave humanity, in Adam, that one test, that if he did the right thing, perhaps then there would have been ripe fruit on the Tree of Life. But he did the wrong thing, and showed something about humanity, that being created good isn't enough, we need to be united to our Creator, to be as one with Him, as He alone is intrinsically good. We can have goodness, and lose it, but He cannot.
So failing the test, and the introduction of sin into humanity is now used by God to drive us into His arms, and once there, He removes the burden. Jesus forever lives to intercede for us. "Come to Me, all you who are weary, heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
And in this way, we don't have to wait until we have the incorruptible flesh before we can have pure and true intimate unbroken communion with our Creator. Because this is found not in me, not in my ability, or my good behavior, fellowship with God is found in Jesus Christ, and Him alone. His righteousness, given to me.
It is in this way that we open our hearts fully to God, trusting Him, because we KNOW He holds NOTHING against us, not now, not ever, again, it's in Jesus, and Jesus does not change. Because we are forgiven, and we know we are beloved, received, accepted, His, and He loves us, and takes us to Himself, promises to never cast us out, promises to care for all our needs, promises to sanctify us, empower us, and lets us know this will be a process, that will last over the course of our lives.
When we get out of control, when we fail to walk in the Spirit, and end up in works of the flesh, because of who we are, we hate it. The part inside that seems to want it, well, it does, that's sin that lives in us, in the flesh, that is, the old man born of Adam. Make no mistake - you are the new man born of God, and you hate sin. Isn't that true?
We can only do what we can do, and God knows that. He knows are weakness, He is sympathetic to our weakness. And He's bringing us home.
He promised.
Much love!
