03/09/2026
Dear Friends
As one grows older, I have found that not only is there more history to reflect upon, but also that one is able to reflect a little more helpfully and accurately on one’s history. In many instances, one is able to sense where one got things right and where one got things wrong. One is in the position to identify where there was an over prioritization on a particular aspect of one’s being or where there was an under investment and one simply did not give a certain part of living the energy it needed. Some attribute such growing ability to reflect as moving towards maturity!
I grew up being taught that I need to be careful what I take into me through my senses, because it can corrupt the integrity of my being/body. I Cor 6 speaks about the freedom to do anything; access anything through the senses. But it then goes on to encourage doing only those things that are beneficial and warns against doing those things that enslave. Similarly, Philippians 4 encourages us to dwell on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable - to dwell on those things that are excellent or praiseworthy (4:8). Matthew reminds us that the “eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness (6:22-23). He goes on to say that the “mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Good people bring good things out of the good stored up in them, and evil people bring evil things out of the evil stored up in them (12:34-35). Indeed, great care is needed in selecting what one gives one’s being access to through what we take in through the senses.
The caution to be discerning as to what to expose my being/body to, however failed to inform me of the following. While it spoke of an outside reality in the world that has the power to corrupt and enslave my being/body, it was silent about an inner corruption of my being/body, the forces within that lurk seeking opportunity to express themselves to the outer world. It is this inner reality that causes a child to defy. There is an “inner push” that causes my being to act in a way that is not for the benefit or sake of my wellbeing or for the benefit of my world. I once heard someone say in jest, “Thank goodness I wasn’t Adam, because if I was, I would have caused the original sin.”
There is something within us seeks to disturb paradise. Deep within my being/body there are drives, urges and passions - unformulated by the mind, that push me towards giving my being/body to express itself in ways that are counterproductive. Behind the compulsions, addictions, deviancies and uncontrolled grabbing at whatever to quench the thirst and satisfy the hunger of our beings… behind the greatest s*x scandals, unscrupulous wealth schemes and narcissistic promotions are the unformulated desires, drives and appetites that lie deep within us.
To be rescued or freed or released or saved from such a state surely is not just what we need but also what we want.
It is into such reality that Paul offers a word from God in Romans 8. He reminds us that the Spirit offers an alternative to being dictated and regulated by the law of sin. He reminds us that there is a law of the Spirit who gives life and peace. He reminds us that the Spirit can set us free from being enslaved to the law of sin.
Paul’s confidence in these statements goes back to Jesus who condemned sin in the flesh/body – dealt with it to free us to live what the law requires. When our flesh – the deep inner urges, desires and appetites of our being tells the mind what to think, we discover that our mind is hostile to God and cannot come under God’s rule. Even this reality is addressed by Jesus on the cross. Even our bodies… even the flesh… even the appetites, urges and desires that lie deep within our being can experience the life and peace of God. The more we seek to live as God’s child, the more we begin to share with Christ the glory of life and peace.
The above is the fulfillment of the promise made through Jeremiah, “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people (31:33)
More about this - the third word from a prophet that we reflect on in our time of worship on Sundays.
Shalom
Gavin
