SPIRITUAL WARFARE – March 3. 2010
PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man (woman), I put away childish things” (I Corinthians 13:11).
Jesus came to save his people from their sins. He didn’t just come to give us eternal life but to give us life more abundantly. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b).
Why are we not having that “life more abundantly?” One of the reasons we are not experiencing that abundant life is that we have not fully died to ourselves yet. We must go through the process of sanctification which is the “setting apart” from the world unto God. We must let our “old man” our old nature die on the cross for our “new man” to live the abundant life.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
There are areas in our life in our formative years in childhood where we have been broken, hurt, abused and used especially by those in our immediate surroundings such as family, friends, teachers, even preachers. We think we have forgiven them but from time to time we realized that we really haven’t.
It may be that coping mechanisms from childhood are still causing us to act and react in childish ways (1 Corinthians 13:11). Think about it! Are you still having problems with your family members? Do you still find yourself resentful and angry over what one of them is doing or saying?
Many experiences from our childhood or possibly young adulthood and our reactions to them have made us what we are. Bitter roots have sprung back up even though we thought we had forgiven them and we find ourselves anguishing over current events similar to the way we felt when we were young such as getting angry, or maybe we feel diminished or “put down”.
There are four Scriptural Laws that we need to be reminded of if we want to find that “freedom and abundant life” that Jesus said was ours. The Bible tells us that we must "put away childish things" that means our continuing childish behaviors reacting to situations like we did when we were children. It's time to GROW UP!
God’s Word is powerful and is “not composed of men’s thoughts, but eternal, unchanging revelation, relevant for every people in every age. God’s laws are absolute; they describe the way reality works” (Sanford, 1992 P.56).
The Bible tells us “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Bringing yourself into obedience to the Four Scriptural Laws will help you to put away "childish things" and open the door for the abundant life that Jesus wants you to have.
The Four Scriptural Laws
1. Honoring Parents
This is the only one of the Ten Commandments that have a promise. “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged, ant that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Deuteronomy 5:16).
Now we know that many times our parents had their own problems and our childhood had some areas that some of us had difficulty with. Certainly in my own childhood were some very serious problems. And personally I did not do well by my parents for which I have repented. Even the Lord told me after I was saved that one of my sins was that I was a “disobedient child”. So don’t think God is not aware of us when we are children. Then you would say well, if God was aware of us when we were children why didn’t he stop the abuse? That’s another whole lesson let’s focus on you today.
Maybe we have come from a difficult background and we did not know better than to be disobedient or disrespectful to our parents. If they are still alive we can do something about that. I venture to say that most of the time our parents did the best they knew how. They also were a product of their environment and culture and what seemed right to them at the time might not have been but they were still our parents.
When you look at your life’s issues and problems do you see that maybe some of the same areas that you mistreated your parents in you are experiencing today? It seems that the way we have treated them is the way we are treated is that not right? Also in the areas we did good to them in we find those areas are also good to us.
When we do not obey God’s law --- in this case honoring parents—confusion enters.
If your parents are already passed then the best thing to do is repent and ask God for forgiveness. Maybe you could find a way to help an elderly person and give them a blessing in their stead. However, if your parents are alive you have the opportunity to turn things around. First of all forgiving them and then establishing a relationship with them where you can show them respect and honor. Not because they deserve it necessarily but because they are YOUR PARENTS! In this way you will be obeying God’s law by honoring your parents and you will find peace in that area as well.
NEXT WEEK
LAW NUMBER 2 – JUDGING
Shalom,
Patricia
Reference:
Sandford, John & Mark. (1992). Deliverance and Inner Healing.Baker Book House Company. Grand Rapids, MI ISBN: 0-8007-9206-8