We see throughout the New Testament Paul, Peter, and others exhorting the followers of Jesus not to go after the desires of the flesh. Paul says we sought our satisfaction from the things of this world back when we were dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1-3). Peter says those passions of the flesh wage war against our soul (1 Pet. 2:11), and instead we should long for pure spiritual milk - if we have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Pet. 2:3).
Why do I follow and feast on the sugar-coated crap of this world? There is no nourishment in it. It actually shrivels up my soul and kills it. Instead I stuff myself so full of worldly entertainment, pleasure, and all kinds of idolatry that I have no appetite when I turn my eyes upon Jesus.
I have a five month old son. He drinks milk. When he is hungry, he lets us know, and we feed him. If we weren't to feed him, he would scream and cry until he got some of the goods. I hate to think of this, but if we weren't to feed him at all, he would soon get sick, weak, and... And if we were to feed him anything other than the milk he needs, the same thing would happen.
What Peter is saying is that we are to cry out to God like newborn infants who are hungry, and God will feed us with his goodness. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. He wants to feed us. He delights to draw near and care for his children. A true child, to continue the nursing metaphor, will latch on to his mother when he is hungry. He won't push her away. Are we seeking God, or pushing him away? Are we crying out to him for pure spiritual milk, the only substance that can satisfy our souls? If not, that is definitely an indicator that we are finding fulfillment elsewhere.
3 comments
Comment by The Bailey 4 on October 16, 2009 at 11:54 AM
hey, i'm going to share this on my FB. thanks. -les
Comment by Eric L'Esperance on October 22, 2009 at 8:01 AM
"I stuff myself so full of worldly entertainment, pleasure, and all kinds of idolatry that I have no appetite when I turn my eyes upon Jesus."
This line in particular really struck me where I'm at. I've been wondering why my desire for prayer, scripture, and meditation has been so weak, and I have a feeling that your thought here may be a key to that answer.
Have you found any ways to avoid this that are particularly effective?
Comment by Ryan on October 23, 2009 at 2:23 PM
Eric,
It was great to meet you and Ben in NC. You guys really seem like you are in a good place, and I particularly appreciate your depth of thought and concern for theologically-informed worship.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what you commented on, and I believe the key to avoiding the complacent Christian walk is to stop trying to avoid sin and instead to abide in God. Unfortunately, in our religious Christian culture today, we live defensively. We stand in one place, frantically trying to dodge the arrows of the enemy, getting hit all the time, and feeling guilty because we can't get our act together. But this kind of defeated, passive life is not what we're called to. God wants us to be on the offensive, actively pursuing His righteousness.
When by His grace we begin passionately pursuing God, our desire for Him will increase. Soon David's prayer will become our own, and we'll desire one thing only: to dwell in the house of the Lord, to be held in His arms.
If we just try to rid ourselves of our sinful actions and don't replace them with godly actions, we'll be left standing there, a clean house for seven demons to come and attack us stronger than ever before. Not to mention if we spend all of our time avoiding sin, we'll become self-righteous moralists, who have no love for God, and therefore no desire to abide in Him.
There's so much to say about this, but the bottom line is that we avoid sin by abiding with God. We don't avoid sin first, cleaning ourselves up, and then God will accept us. We bring all of our junk to God, he does the cleaning, and when He does we are overwhelmed with his saving love, so our only desire is to dwell with Him.
Simple as that...
Thanks for joining us and sharing your thoughts.