“…
clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to
gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Romans 13:14
The Apostle Paul is speaking to his
readers about their “future salvation” in this portion of scripture. What he is referring to is the 2nd
Coming of Christ. We are not to live our
lives as we please but as is pleasing to the Lord. Paul tells his readers to put on the “armor
of light”. Why armor? Do you not know that we’re in a battle
against forces of darkness. We are
unable to stand against the enemy without our armor.
When we receive Christ, our sins are forgiven
and we are called to live on as disciples of Christ. Part of that calling is to prepare yourself
for battle (Ephesians 6:10-18). A Christian’s
walk isn’t always easy. We must constantly be on our guard against temptations
and temporal delights which woo us. If
we gratify the desires of the flesh we will end up starving our spirit
man.
Too many people are Christians in name
alone. They know nothing of the battle
for men’s souls that rages in the spiritual realm. It goes on unseen and therefore doesn’t exist
to a majority of those who consider themselves believers. That suits Satan just fine. To believe in God, yet disbelieve in an
adversary who vies for men’s souls is to sidestep what scripture states about
fallen angels in the Old Testament (Isaiah 14:12-15). True believers, the ones who take their
relationship seriously and seek to emulate Christ in their daily lives, know of
this other realm and continually prepare themselves by feeding their spirit man
daily.
Let your earthly desires go. Focus on Christ and live according to how He
lived. Enjoying the delights of a
temporal world in and of itself is harmless, but doing it to the exclusion of
all else will leave you with empty hands when the time comes for Christ’s
return. Until next time, walk with the
King and be a blessing!
