LIFE OF THE FLESH OR THE SPIRIT?
How
many times has your alarm clock gone off and you simply rolled over and
went back to sleep even though you knew that you need to get up and do a
number of important things that day?
This is precisely the dynamic that is always at work in our faith
lives. Many times, we are faced with the choice of approaching a
situation through the grace of faith or in the “non-grace” of the flesh.
The attraction of the flesh is usually strong and insistent; that of
grace is often drowned out by the attractions of the world and the
flesh. We have to learn how to recognize and avail of the moments of
grace in our lives in order to put to death the ways of the flesh that
can never lead us to true and lasting fulfillment.
Paul has experienced this in his own life. He was once a persecutor of
Christians when he lived under the power of the flesh and under his own
wisdom and power. Once he met Jesus, he knew everything had to change.
The Christian life is the constant choice to die to the ways and
attractions of the flesh and the world and to embrace the truth that is
encapsulated in the life and values of the Kingdom of God.
We can never let down our guard against the flesh (that is, roll over
and dream of the extra couple of minutes of lying in bed that too often
turns into a much longer time) because when we allow it to have control
over us, we will be led along paths of destruction and frustration
rather than beauty and fulfillment.
It is not an easy road to follow but it is a necessary one if we want
our faith and relationship with God to grow. Let us always choose the
way of the Spirit of God and never the path of the flesh. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
REFLECTION
QUESTIONS: Do you seek the comforts of the flesh in your life? Or are
you aware of the trickery of the flesh and develop strategies to combat
it?
Father,
You desire the best for me. Help me to learn how to live under the
grace of the Spirit and to deny the flesh any hold in my life.
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