Rom 8.12-17

Psg: Rom 8.12-17 (http://biblia.com/bible/leb/Ro8.12-17)
Date: 7/10/12

Read

12 So then, brothers, we are obligated not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba!cFather!” 16 The Spirit himself confirms to our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer together with him so that we may also be glorified together with him.

Record

For if you live according to … the Spirit / if indeed we suffer together with him...

Reflect

• Walking by the Spirit in this world will lead to suffering, because we will be walking at odds with this world.
• Of course, living according to the flesh leads to death. It will be slavery and then a death that are not at odds with this world, as if that were some consolation.
• The direction that the Spirit will lead us will necessarily be at odds with this world. They are two forces of momentum going in different directions.
• Otherwise, we wouldn’t need the leading of the Spirit.
• Therefore, there will be clashes, collisions, forces being applied in the same place at the same time, but not in the same direction.
• And therefore there will be suffering with Christ.
• We should not be surprised or discouraged at the suffering, the collisions, the feelings of going against the grain, or the bumps and bruises it causes.
• This is part of what it means to be sons/children of God.
• It’s not just being in the group, but it’s being in the stream that moves contrary to flow of this world and the suffering that comes with that.
• Being children of God also means being heirs (17) and therefore sharing in his glory (17).

Respond

• Forgive me, Father, for my desire to avoid the necessary suffering that comes with walking by the Spirit in a world that walks by the flesh. Correct me for the ways that I turn to walk by the flesh rather than take the bruises of walking against the grain, against the flow of the dead. Living up to the name of an heir and sharing in Christ’s glory is far superior to the discomfort of sharing in Christ’s suffering.
• CR: When facing the temptation to follow the bruiseless flow, picture being in a crowded area with two flows of people - the larger flow walking toward death and the smaller flow walking toward life. Be willing to take the knocks of the living.