That was Mary’s response when the angel told her what was about to go down as God was on the move.
My post yesterday centered around a miracle birth.
We all know that any new birth…begins with a seed …being planted. And then you wait.
That can be the hard part for many folks.
I remember when our oldest daughter called and announced that she was ‘with child’ (singular when we first got word). We were stunned and then overjoyed. My wife, however, who is a labor/delivery nurse then spent months suppressing a lot of anxiety as she knows all too well from her line of work…all that can ‘go wrong’ during a pregnancy.
Interestingly, Paul voiced similar concerns when he wrote to the Galatians. He expressed sensing ‘birth pains’ or ‘laboring’…”until Christ is formed in you.” (4:19) I suspect he had the same concerns on his mind as my wife did for our daughter.
He knew all that can ‘interfere’ or hinder what God desires to do. Perhaps he had the Parable of the Sower on his mind when he expressed those concerns. But then he was also aware how easy it is for hearts that are not fully committed to God…to be turned or drift and harden and/or easily be deceived. Paul was well versed in the history of his own people. He knew God likened us as ‘sheep’ and how we all ‘go astray in our hearts’. (Heb 3:10)
Yes… I know that the ‘gates of hell cannot prevail’ against His church. But I also know that God’s will is for ‘All men to be saved’…and the sad reality is…in spite of the great price Jesus paid to make that possible…people still have a choice in the matter.
“Choose you this day whom you will serve!”…cried the prophet Elijah… “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. (1 Kings 18). Joshua had set the challenge down as well when he was leading the people into the promised land: choose you this day whom ye will serve (Josh 24:15)
And Jesus taught it would be a narrow path and door that leads to life and that ‘few’ would find it. He also made it clear that no one can serve two masters either. (Matt 6:24)
So why did God come to earth in the form of man? I can assure you, He did not script this incredible plan out so we could have a holiday to gorge ourselves on food, drink, and material goods (leading to more debt)…along with all the added stress and depression that so many end up buried in each year.
He saw the misery and darkness and despair enveloping all the world because of sin. He knew that His wrath and judgments were on the earth as a result of His law being laid down because of the increasing wickedness and sin of man. And He knew that man was incapable of wading through the mire of this dark world without a Savior.
So Jesus came to ‘give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ (Luke 1:79). Walking in His peace was suppose to be a way of life.
This meant we would need to do more than just ‘believe’.
We would need to… ‘follow’.
Following Jesus in obedience is not ‘works’. Nor is it ‘legalism’. (Those are terms that some like to toss out when you start sharing the gospel that Jesus came preaching).
Truth be told, following Jesus in obedience is not some ‘option’ offered to those ‘super elite Christians’ who truly want to experience ‘abundant life’. Amazingly, many people out there have bought in to that lie. They think they have a ticket punched into the eternal kingdom when they die because they ‘joined a church’ even if they do not live a ‘fruitful life of repentance and obedience. Who do you think Jesus was talking to when he asked “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46) .
God set down a law that He said was good and Holy. Paul echoed this as well. (Rom 7:12)
We are told repeatedly in scripture that the ‘soul that sins shall surely die’. Death had already passed on to all men since all have sinned.
Death came from eating off the wrong tree. It began in Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve. And if we don’t let Christ lead us to deal with our sinful flesh nature, the penalty remains the same. Romans 8:13 makes that pretty obvious.- “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
We were all captives at one time by our sinful nature. Ephesians 2:1-4 describes in detail who held us captive (Satan) and it was our sinful flesh nature that were the ‘chains’ that held us in bondage. Our flesh nature was his feeding/breeding ground to build strongholds in our lives.
When Jesus came to uphold and fulfill the Law, and then even raised that bar even higher (made the case for this the other day), it would seem apparent that we are all doomed. O what a wretched example of humanity we all are…who will deliver us from this sinful body.? I believe Paul spoke for all of us there in Romans 7.
Then he answered it proclaiming: “Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7:25)
God sent Jesus to demonstrate for us all…how a ‘new creation’ is to look…and walk in a dark and fallen world. It’s not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit. (Zech 4:6)
God’s wrath was on us all (John 3:36) Jesus taught us to ‘walk His way’ and we too, will take up a cross and ‘die to self’. His spirit then leads us to put to death this sinful nature (Rom 8:13) and as we ‘die to self’, new life begins to form and take shape in us.
As Paul said…as he was ‘being crucified with Christ’, it is no longer him that lived but Christ living in him.’ (Gal 2:20)
I’m not sure how we got there, but many believe that if they just somehow can ‘mentally’ align themselves with this ‘idea’ then that is all we need to do. Just ‘sit and believe’. You know, join a church, pay your tithes, ‘get involved and help’ and try not to do those big sins anymore.
But that is not true faith. Obeying Him…Following Him…Abiding in Him….brings genuine change…it produces genuine fruit.
2 Cor 5:17 begins with that conditional two-letter word of “IF….anyone is In Christ, he is a NEW creation…”
Perhaps tomorrow, if the Lord is willing, we will explore even more in depth what that ‘new creation’ looks like…especially when comparing it to the ‘old man’.
Stay tuned.
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