(Delmont Record – 8/15/2014)

Change of Heart

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other… ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:13-15; 22-26, NIV)

One of the biggest lies spread under the guise of Christianity is that if you are a “good” Christian that things in life will go well for you – that you will be “blessed” with health and wealth.  It takes only a cursory glance through the Bible to poke all kinds of holes in this so-called theology.  Jesus Himself taught in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”  This is a consistent theme throughout the Bible.  God doesn’t promise us good circumstances, instead He promises if we continue to trust Him that He will give us good things despite the circumstances.  Notice the fruit of the Spirit – the results of faith in Jesus Christ – are not measured by circumstantial evidence.  The evidence of God working in you is not health and wealth, but instead it is living a life marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Bible demonstrates that with faith in God all these things are possible whatever the circumstances.

For most of us it is pretty easy to demonstrate these traits in the best of circumstances: when things go our way, when we get what we want, and when everyone agrees with us.  But what about those times when circumstances and people seem to be against us?  What about those days when nothing goes right when tempers flare and dissention abounds?  What traits do people see in us in the worst of circumstances?  It is really those moments that reveal to others – and to us – our true character, and often that picture is not pretty.

But God knows our hearts; He knows these things do not come to us naturally.  It is not in our nature to serve others in humility by loving our neighbor as ourselves.  It is not in our nature to react with love, patience, and kindness when we are met with anger, selfishness, and hatred.  These qualities are not part of our nature, but they are part of God’s nature.  That is why these things are listed as gifts of the Spirit for they are His alone to grant. God isn’t ordering us to just conjure up these traits.  He isn’t demanding that we work harder at being nice to people.  In fact, He is telling us we can’t do it in our own strength.  Instead He is begging us to ask Him for His good gifts, and He promises that if we ask for these things, we will receive them.  We pray for lots of things, but it seems that in most of our prayers we are asking that God would change our circumstances.  Very rarely do we pray that God would change us.  What is your prayer today?  Are you praying that God would simply change your circumstances or that He would do the greater work of changing your very heart?