As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Summary: There are two ways to try and live for God. One works and the other doesn’t. The one that works is to fill our lives with Jesus, who points us to God.
Who is Peter talking about when he says “they?”
The “they” he refers to are the people who are “done with sin.” These people put Christ first in their lives, and they arm themselves with the same attitude that Christ had towards suffering. Jesus didn’t want to suffer any more than you or I do. He was not superhuman in that sense. Yet he was superhuman in his obedience to God.
How do we follow Jesus? How can we live for the “will of God?”
There are two general approaches to this challenge. One is subtractive, the other is additive. The subtractive approach is the most common so let’s start with that.
The goal of the subtractive approach to living for the will of God is simple: subtract out all the things God doesn’t want. What is left is God’s will. There are three basic problems with this approach.
First, is the fact that there is the same number of things God doesn’t want us to do as we can imagine doing without God. That number is infinity. There is an unlimited number of things we could stop doing to try and please God. If you could stand next to God and look out around you to the ends of the universe, you could see every possible direction. Each of those directions is a place where someone can stand and look away from God. There is an infinite number of paths away from God that you would have to stop going down.
Second, the reality that changing what we do requires willpower. Let’s say you have been doing the same old thing for years. Suddenly you realize it is something that you shouldn’t be doing. What do you do? You stop doing it, right? And then you find yourself doing it again and so you stop again. And then…. it all repeats. Changing direction is hard. Sometimes it feels impossible.
The third thing is that once we “subtract” a bad thing out of our life we create a vacuum. Both physical and spiritual natures abhor a vacuum. Something always rushes in to fill the space. In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus explains:
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
So what is the alternative? What is this “additive” approach? The answer to this, simply put, is more Jesus. Jesus always points us to the Father. Whatever the Father wants, Jesus wants. If we fill ourselves with Jesus, we are drawn to the Father. If we are being drawn to the Father we are doing his will.
Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22: 37b-38)
If you love God with ALL your heart and ALL your soul and ALL your mind, what is left to get into trouble? The trick is learning how to love God. As we love God more and His love fills us more, all the bad stuff is pushed out. Just as light displaces darkness, so God’s presence in our heart, soul, and mind chases out the shadows of doubt and fear. It also chases out our desire to sin, that is, to oppose God.
The answer is simple: More Jesus. The more we let Jesus sit in the driver’s seat of our heart, the more He points us to God.
Application: Spend time every day with Jesus, both in his Word and in prayer.
Food for Thought: What kind of human desires are not considered ”evil?”
The only human desires that I can think of that are not “evil” would be the human desire to want to know and be more intimate with Jesus, to fellowship and have the desire to share His news with others.
I have been struggling a bit these past few weeks with the very same thing this passage is talking about. I have tried the subtractive approach (though I didn’t realize that’s what it was) rather than the additive approach and as a result, everything has come back full force. It’s like Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
Desiring Jesus, brings me back to Phil 4:7-9: “7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think on these things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.…”
Thank you, Darla!
I appreciate how you have captured the spirit of this post. The Romans 7:15 reference is perfect!
Psalm 37: 3-7 and then some
Trust in the LORD and do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart, commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this,..
It all starts with God for any desire to arise,..so if I commit my way to Him,..He will provide the desires of my heart as long as they are in line with His will,..I really don’t think God would lie to His children,..it’s always the other way around with God,..we are always the one lying to Him,..
It brings me to the command of Jesus,..Ask, Seek and Knock,..ask anything in my name and it shall be given,..God does not lie,..He continues to give abundantly in this world and into the next,..the book of James says something like,..you have not because you ask not and when you ask you ask with the wrong motive it is not in line with the will of God,..
Desire or no desire it all starts with God,..and that is nowhere near being evil,..
Thanks, John!
It does indeed all start with God. 🙂
I’m with Darla, John, and Jesus.
What kind of human desires are not considered ”evil?”
Our desire to serve God:
Matthew 22:37-39, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Hey Ron,
You are in good company!!
I like how the comments today point towards loving God. As I think about it, I realize that loving God means doing what God would want to be doing if he were standing here next to me. He would be loving people. Jesus, God incarnate, demonstrated that by caring for people, feeding them, healing them, and teaching them.
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