Who are we in the dark?

We all have some secrets that we keep to ourself. Things that we dont want others to find out about us, things that we want to keep hidden. They may be bad habits that we are unable to break, they may be guilty pleasures that we do. No matter what they are, they are holding us back in our walk with Christ and we must overcome them. But sometimes we may not even be aware of the bad habits, since they have become so ingrained in our lives. But we must deny these things are walk a life as God called us, with Godlike characteristics. Therefore we must ask ourselves...Is our character Christ-like or Man-like?

Character is such a major and important element in our life. It is how we are perceived by others and will determine the course of our life. Galatians 5:16-26 says

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other

 This passage has a stern warning, but also an amazing promise! If we continue to live a life where we gratify the desires of the sinful nature, we will not inherit the kingdom of God...we will not spend eternity in His almighty presence. But...If we allow the Spirit to guide our way and we display the fruits of the spirit through our life, we will see the promises of God come true.

We must always remember that we cant have it both ways, we cant indulge our sinful nature and at the same time please God. For as it says above "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature." The two are opposite and we must choose what we will do, please our flesh or please our almighty God.

This passage also lists the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit:

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-Control

Which  of these are lacking in our lives?  Which do you need to pray about? Do we really love as God called us to love? How much do we love those people that have hurt or betrayed us? What about the people that have lied and cheated us? Do we still love them and show kindness towards them?

When you look at the people in your life, the people around you, you will find that you gravitate towards people that are similar to us, like minded, similar interests etc. We feel comfortable around these people. But there is one problem...this in not the way Christ called us to live!! Christ desires that we love those people who we find unloveable, the undesirable people. We must never judge!

One of the things we must remember is when you have the love of God inside you, how can you lack any of the other spirits, they all come as one! Its impossible to be full of joy and possess no peace, it impossible for someone to be faithful but not have self-control. You may be lacking one or another, but its impossible to be missing one entirely. When we have the fruits of the spirit in our life, people will be drawn to you; they will be drawn to your Christ-like characteristics. We will be known by our fruits.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

If we are beacons for God, we must live all our life as God has taught us, not just the elements people can see. The things in our life that we try to keep in the dark will always become exposed in the end. These are things that are unpleasing to Christ. We must have self control in all areas, not just our outwardly actions, but even our thoughts, for God can always see the true desires of our heart, nothing is hidden! If all the fruits are present in our life, when the hard times hit, things won’t start falling apart. Finally if all the fruits are present, people will be attracted to us!

We must always act as Children of God!