Read Romans 8:1-11.
These are anxious times. Many people are worried. In parts of Melbourne, COVID-19 is more active than ever. Maybe it could spread to Sydney. It can be frightening. We are fighting an enemy we can’t see.
Last week, Paul was anxious, too. Do you remember? He said, “Who can rescue me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24). Most of Chapter 7 was about conflict – about fighting. Fighting an enemy inside – our sinful nature.
But Paul ended with a thank you. A thank you to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our God is the answer!
Now Paul is calm. Now he is at peace. He is looking to God. And now he brings in again the third way by which we know God: the Holy Spirit.
I think verse 6 is a key verse. “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom 8:6).
If we are Christians, we have decided to give away control of our life. We have decided to give control to God. “It’s no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Yes, that’s a lot to give up.
But look at the wonderful rewards! Paul names them. “Life and peace”. True life – because life following the desires of our body is really a kind of death. And Peace. Peace in this world of struggle. Peace in this world of worry. Peace, because we are no longer fighting with ourselves. Peace, because we let the Lord be in control.
How does the Spirit work with Jesus, and Jesus with the Father? Paul writes more later in the chapter about how the Spirit works. Sometimes we are lost for words. The Spirit can express to God what we can’t even say in words. Our actual words are not important. But we must start by having quiet time with God. The Spirit is in us if we have confessed that Jesus is Lord. We can ask the Spirit to help us think of the life of Jesus. When we have a problem, what would Jesus do?
We don’t need to worry, even with the coronavirus changing things every day. We can be at peace. God offers life and peace, through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit. Our job is to open ourselves to the Spirit in the name of Jesus. That is the way to life and peace.
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