Today in church Pastor Gary talked about resisting the flesh. He pointed out Galatians 5:19, which lists the works of the flesh. However, right after the list of things we aren't supposed to do comes the list of things we are supposed to do: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Last night, as I was working on some new away messages, I came across a list of quotes by Mother Teresa. They really spoke to me, as I reflected on a recent dining-hall conversation about showing love to others by the way we speak, and also on the general idea of showing Christian love to others.
I thought I would share some of them with you, the person who happens to be skimming this post now.
"Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness."
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love
letter to the world."
"It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love
those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start."
"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway."
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."
"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."
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1 comment:
What do you mean by flesh? Appetites? Like the God given appetites for security, friendship, sex, etc. If you mean flesh in this way, it seems foolish to resist the flesh for it is God given.
I think the problem lies in the way in which we persue the goods of the flesh.
For instance:
Within marriage, the two-in-one-flesh union instantiates the highest expression of human sexuality. It is unitive, pleasurable, and strengthens the marital bond. Deviations from this norm like homosexuality, sex with self, beastiality, fornication lack the fullness of the true marital bond. They lack the fullness of the goodness which God desires for us to attain.
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