The idea of absolution is impossible. A definite
always or outcome is not known. We are a dismal species. God is unchangeable,
definite, and unconditional. If this is true how can man in his entire
imperfections be definite or perfect? The only things that are positive are our
birth from God and our need for His Son and Spirit. Our creation has been for
one purpose.
Man
has tried to find that purpose by manmade objects. Therefore everything is
imperfect and our answers are not definite. Our purpose is the belief in God
and once we find Him and lay down our trespasses we are to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever.[1]
Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him at night in his
temple, and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them, never
again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat
upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God
will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[2] In
this there is hope, a hope of everlasting life with Him in His Kingdom. His
unconditional love will lead us there if we choose to believe in Him and serve
Him.
We
think we are definite in our breath, but life isn’t a sure thing. God creates
life and He destroys it. Today we might live, but tomorrow no one knows. We
live in assumption that God will allow us our days so we plan. We plan little
things, we plan big things, and we plan a lot of different things. It could be
as little as grocery shopping to as big as a festival. But this is what life
is. Life is to exist and to exist we have to live. But in these things we just
talk about the body. Our souls are definite because of God’s breath of life and
his likeness. We have emotions and the knowledge as to what is right or wrong.
Our souls have paths they take, but they are not known to us. We think we
choose those paths but God does. Since we cannot understand everything, we
cannot see the outcome.
This
is way we must pray and believe in our blessed Lord. We need a guide to life.
We cannot live in this world that has fallen apart and fallen hard. Our life
must be lived through the Spirit. When we follow the Spirit we are called heirs
and children of God. Romans 8:1-17 spells it out completely: “Therefore, there
is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was
powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so
he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the
law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature
but according to the Spirit.
“Those
who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that
nature desires; but those who live accordance with the Spirit have their minds
set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is Life and peace, the sinful mind is hostile to God.
It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the
sinful nature cannot please God.
“You,
however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the
Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead
because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the
Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you will also give
life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
“Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-
but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live
according to the sinful nature, you will die; gut if by the Spirit you put to
death the misdeeds for the body, we will live, because those who are led by the
Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you
a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we
cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are
children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed
we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”[3]
Life
as we know it is not as we perceive. We are blinded by everything in front of
us. We are destroyed by our own pride. Our pride is only a small picture of the
sinful nature. We must let of all that defines us as human – our pride and
self-preservation. As heirs in Christ we must be humble and allow God His right
to determine our fate since He created it. In a word, give back to God what is
already His. Our devotion and dedication should be His, but we are still
controlled and allow ourselves to be controlled by the sinful nature.
It
is in Christ we find salvation. We cannot achieve it on our own. He is our hope
and by it we are saved. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as
in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, be we
ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in
this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is
no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we
do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
“In
the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought
to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words
cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”[4]
The answer is simple: trust in the Spirit of God
and He will pour His love into you as His and adopted child. However, “Do not
be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”[5]
Instead “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of
wisdom.”[6] Remember as well “If you make the Most High
your dwelling—even the Lord, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no
disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning
you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”[7]
“Therefore
don’t lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are
being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving
for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on
what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.”[8]
We
hope in what is definite and lasting assurance is God. God is thus because He
is unseen and since His Son and Spirit are always present we can discern what
is right and do what is right. When we fix our eyes on Him our feet are firmly
planted so that we do not stumble, but when we turn away we fall. Those He
loves unconditionally He catches. The Spirit does not push us down. Our own
pride is an enabler for the enemy. He sees our doubt and uses it against us. He
is just waiting for an opening, a void he can fill with the sinful nature.
Seeds of doubt and transgression are his tools. If we holdfast in Christ, He
will pick us up again.
It
is the hope and faith in God that keeps us alive in Him. The enemy is arrogant.
He thinks he holds more power than he does. He likes to feast on our fears and
uses them to push us down. It is then that Christ picks us up again. If our
hope and faith are in God we can live. The idea of eternity is only true in
God. His love is surreal and is unconditional. It heals us and makes us the
heirs of His Kingdom. For this we must pray to
God. His love fills us with hope. How can Divinity of God not be real or
unconditional?
[2]
Holy Bible New International Version, Revelation 7:15-17
[3] The
Holy Bible New International Version
[4] The
Holy Bible New International Version Romans 8:22-27
[5]
The Holy Bible New International Version 1 Corinthians 15:33
[6]
The Holy Bible New International Version Psalm 90:12
[7]
The Holy Bible New International Version Psalm 91:9-12
[8]
The Holy Bible New International Version 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
