One way we know we are growing in Christ is that our spiritual self is becoming more dominant over our physical self.

We have physical desires that are natural and necessary for survival (eating, drinking, sex). However, as we grow in Christ, our spiritual desires to be like Christ, to find pleasure in Him, to see Him glorified overshadow those lesser physical desires.

This is easy to say, but hard to do. We are bombarded by the indoctrination of this world to value what it values and it’s extremely hard to go against the flow unless our spirituality is dominating our physicality.

For example, what is the real gauge for how you feel about yourself right now? Is it what you have achieved, how you look, how you compare to those in similar stages of life, what you drive, etc? Or is it finding rest in God, content with where God has placed you?

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” Gal. 4:9

Just like Galatians, after having tasted Christ, we have the tendency to want to go back to the old way of measuring and seeing ourselves. It is easily awakened as we hear people around us talking constantly about their achievements, their plans, their desire for physical things. We feel we must compete with them or we are missing out!

Walk by faith; not by sight! Let the spiritual overshadow the physical!

Help:
– Spend more time with those who value spiritual things over against temporal things.
– Saturate yourself in the word and get your mind in the right frame.
– Remind yourself how short-lived and meaningless temporal things really are.
– Consider Christ who died penniless, and yet had all things under Him.

Blessings! See you Sunday.

PH