The Heart Of The Matter
Wednesday January 14, 2015
The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be. (Jeremiah 17:9-10 MSG)
Throughout the Bible we learn that the actions of self-willed, rebellious people is the history of humankind. On the daily news we see the insane actions of people from our own country, and from around the world, and this is likely to continue until the end of time. God’s plan for our lives and His solution for those who have gone astray has always been forgiveness and restoration through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What is the root of this going astray and making a mess of things? The answer repeated down through the centuries is that that we choose to do things our own way and to live as though God did not exist. We run after pleasure and attempt to solve problems our own way.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23 NIV)
Treatment programs, sponsors, counselors, and other activities can help us identify harmful thoughts and behaviours that are the result of an actual problem that we have had to contend with. That problem, the source of all of our other problems, is our rebellious independence. Some people call it “running on self-will.” This is the root issue that needs to be brought before our Heavenly Father for forgiving and healing.
God alone knows how today fits together with yesterday and tomorrow and we need to turn each day over to His care. A new beginning takes place in our lives when we humbly admit that we are powerless on our own, that our lives are unmanageable, and that we need a life giving relationship with the God who cares for us. Any other solutions we may try on our own will lead us back into the insanity from which we are seeking release.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1 NKJV)
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