Spiritual Fitness
“And we all… are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Behold, now is the acceptable time;….” (2 Corinthians 3:18, 6:2 RSV)
I have always appreciated the need to stay fit. I was an avid boxer in Jr. High School. I played varsity football and basketball in high school and ran varsity track in college. I ran five miles every morning for the first few years after college. I was a faithful weightlifter all through the years until Christmas Eve 1999 when I was in a serious car accident and haven’t been able to lift much since. I see my body now and am frustrated at the loss in muscle tone which I was so used to all of my life until 1999. I’m recently been given the green light to slowly reenter the exercise realm: that feels great!
It’s the same with our spiritual condition. “Salvation” has been accomplished by Christ. The price is paid for our sinfulness. “Sanctification”, on the other hand, is a process. “Sanctification” is the lifelong process of being changed from one level of glory to another. Have you seen the lapel button, “Christian Under Construction”? That’s “Sanctification.” It’s an ongoing process. It’s so easy to become quite spiritually fit: sincerely recognize our sinful nature…repent…become aggressive about our Christian commitment….progress in spiritual strength. We feel great! We are on the right track! All is good. Then…we relax our faith-commitment. Our spiritual muscles drift into atrophy. We become spiritually flabby. Before we know it…a once spiritually firm person is a spiritual invalid. We’re morally and spiritually unfit. There’s nothing more Satan would like than a once Spiritually strong individual slowly drifting into spiritual weakness. Talk about a false sense of security!
“Now is the acceptable time.” How spiritually fit am I today? Today is all that counts. Yesterday was important…yesterday. But all that matters right now…is…right now!
Blessings Always in All Ways,
Steve
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I have always appreciated the need to stay fit. I was an avid boxer in Jr. High School. I played varsity football and basketball in high school and ran varsity track in college. I ran five miles every morning for the first few years after college. I was a faithful weightlifter all through the years until Christmas Eve 1999 when I was in a serious car accident and haven’t been able to lift much since. I see my body now and am frustrated at the loss in muscle tone which I was so used to all of my life until 1999. I’m recently been given the green light to slowly reenter the exercise realm: that feels great!
It’s the same with our spiritual condition. “Salvation” has been accomplished by Christ. The price is paid for our sinfulness. “Sanctification”, on the other hand, is a process. “Sanctification” is the lifelong process of being changed from one level of glory to another. Have you seen the lapel button, “Christian Under Construction”? That’s “Sanctification.” It’s an ongoing process. It’s so easy to become quite spiritually fit: sincerely recognize our sinful nature…repent…become aggressive about our Christian commitment….progress in spiritual strength. We feel great! We are on the right track! All is good. Then…we relax our faith-commitment. Our spiritual muscles drift into atrophy. We become spiritually flabby. Before we know it…a once spiritually firm person is a spiritual invalid. We’re morally and spiritually unfit. There’s nothing more Satan would like than a once Spiritually strong individual slowly drifting into spiritual weakness. Talk about a false sense of security!
“Now is the acceptable time.” How spiritually fit am I today? Today is all that counts. Yesterday was important…yesterday. But all that matters right now…is…right now!
Blessings Always in All Ways,
Steve
<><
posted by BreadBakers at 4:15 PM
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