No sooner had I posted yesterday my disappointment on the results of my obedience, and I opened this from Jim Spivey's blog.
Jim wrote, "I don’t ever get to 'win' at this following His direction thing (and my ego so wants to win and get it all right); no, I will lose, again and again, and He wins for me, giving me more than I ever even knew I wanted."
What happened at the birth of Jesus that changed the nature of following God? Why does the entrance of a messiah make the godly go from smiter to smited? I want to win. I want to smite evil. I want to crush injustice. And yet the New Testament runs in an apparent polar opposite to the Old Testament. Why?
This is largely because the Old Testament is the story of the godly without the Holy Spirit, and without direct access to the Father, and without knowledge of the kingdom of God. Everything therefore became a metaphoric expression of the spiritual. It all was prophetic of the appearance of Jesus on the earth.
Post Christ however, there is the availability of the Holy Spirit. There is entrance into the kingdom of God, and therefore all that is physical becomes irrelevant. In Christianity winning comes from obedience to that Holy Spirit. It is doing that right thing when you know to do it. It is following that compulsion to step out of your comfort zone, and be a reflection of Christ and His love for someone. Then, the prosperity of the Old Testament will be prosperity in Heaven. After all, Heaven is where Jesus said to store up your wealth.
To the world, Charlie Sheen has as good a definition of winning as anyone. But in Christ, winning only comes from obeying by letting go of our will, and following His.
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