Are You Loving the Dirt?

This wild horse really seemed to be enjoying himself rolling around in the dirt. This is good for horses, because it conditions their skin and acts as a natural insect repellent. But is it good for people?

We do well being clean, both physically and spiritually.

When Jesus came down from the hill, large crowds followed him. Then a man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to him, knelt down before him, and said, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.” Matthew 8:1-2

This man and others look upon cleanliness as being free from disease. Do we not wash our hands often thinking we will prevent disease?

Consider how Jesus responded if you are seeking a physical healing.

Jesus reached out and touched him. I do want to,” he answered. “Be clean!” At once the man was healed of his disease. Matthew 8: 3

What about cleansing from sin?

A paralyzed man was brought to Jesus by his friends. Making an opening in the tiles of a roof they let down their friend right in front of Jesus. You’d think it was obvious that this man needed a physical healing since he was lying on a mat. But Jesus. He saw the need for cleansing from sin first, so he declared the paralyzed man was forgiven and healed him physically second. See Luke 5:17-25.

Jesus proved he could and would heal disease and sin. 

I talked about releasing that burden of sin to God in the blog, “Releasing the Pain.” Click here to go to the blog.

But Jesus has more for us. He has a new lifestyle.  Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.” John 14:6

The journey may begin with that burden of guilt released or your body healed, but to continue on the way that leads to eternal life, more is required of you.

You must believe and keep on believing in Jesus

and keep on following him. The horse above will repeatedly go back to the dirt. But, you are not a horse, so you cannot keep going back to the dirt.

You must lay down your will and pick up God’s will in your life. You must let Jesus take the reins of your life.

 He is the way, the truth and the life, not you.

Just as Jesus had to lay down his will and pick up the cross to make your salvation possible, so you must lay down your will. This includes your bad habits and addictions.

Those who are children of God do not continue to sin, for God’s very nature is in them; and because God is their Father, they cannot continue to sin. 1John 3:9

Did you catch that? God’s nature is in his children, so they cannot continue to sin, or break God’s law. But, what if they do continue to sin? This means their will is not surrendered to God.

There are two sides to a coin, heads and tails. Only one side is up at a time. Jesus is the captain of your ship or you are.

People can be caught up into sin again after being forgiven or else why is this following directive found in the book of Romans 6:12-13?

Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self. Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. 

Your natural self likes rolling around in the dirt. What does it look like to surrender to God? It can look like throwing away your cigarettes, your whiskey, or your raging anger.

I love the following verse. You can trust the word of God to speak life.

What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. Galatians 5:16

The Spirit won’t lead you into the dirt. Trust God.

Scripture quotations are taken from the GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION, SECOND EDITION, Copyright©1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *