We Are Torn Between Two Lovers

Meditations for Ragamuffins 

July 7, 2023

We Are Torn Between Two Lovers

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

Galatians 5:1

 

We are torn between two lovers. This is the reality of our lives. On one side, Jesus, who loves us and who gave himself for our sins, calls us to follow him. When we follow Jesus, through the power of God working in us, we get to serve God and enjoy the new way of living in the Spirit. Jesus is the ground of our hope in this new way of living, and we want to continually remind ourselves that “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:8-10). (See Galatians 1:4, Philippians 2:13, Romans 7:6b)

Over and against this life in Christ, we love ourselves. This is not the love God commands us to have for our neighbors; this is the love of our flesh, our natural life, and the world’s culture where we live. The Apostle Paul didn’t care for shades of gray. He saw things as black and white. You are either in Christ, or you are not. You are either living by grace, or you are living under the law. You are either living by the Spirit, or you are living by the flesh. Although Paul sees these two ways of living as being completely opposite of each other, he does recognize that these different ways of living are like forces constantly fighting each other, and thus we are torn between two lovers.

The vernacular of the performance-based-acceptance way of the world culture is dominated by words such as: should, ought, must, and have to. In our new way of living in the Spirit, our life is not governed by what we have to do; rather life is governed by what we get to do. Living in this new way of the Spirit is the freedom Christ has won for us. One of our lovers, the world’s culture, tries to dominate us by guilt. Our lover, Jesus, teaches us that there is no guilt for those who belong to him. (Romans 8:1-2)

My Takeaway: For the people of God, there has always been the question: “choose today whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). The Apostle Paul suggests this as our response: “Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 PHILLIPS). 

Sē’lah

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This series of meditations are inspired by the writings of Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, and many other books.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.