Romans 6:12-16

“No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.” vs. 13

As we live in this good and broken world, we will have daily encounters with brokenness, both in ourselves and in the world around us. Paul describes that brokenness as sin, a cancer that infects the whole creation, and says that in Christ we have an option. We can either succumb to the brokenness and let it dominate our lives, or we can present ourselves to God as agents of healing and reconciliation.

Now this isn’t just some doctrine or theology, as we are sometimes prone to think. This is real and has everything to do with how we actually experience life. These really are our options: we can align with our brokenness and give ourselves up to all the passions and desires of a self-oriented life. Or we can align with what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature” and give ourselves to unconditional loving and sacrificial service.

Of course a right choice will not give us immunity to the signs and scars of brokenness. But in Christ we can, by the grace of God, experience all the fruits of the Spirit in daily living. We can know love, joy, peace, and patience in abundance!  And such a life is far superior to that provided by wallowing in the self-destruction of self-indulgence!

Thought for the Day: What fruits  of the Spirit do I know daily?