An old one, but worth sharing
An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him.
He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman hit the roof and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do?' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.
"Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."
Brings to mind Galatians 5:16-26:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
The Christian life cannot be lived in the flesh. You can try to live the Christian life in the flesh. You can try with great zeal to obey every commandment you can find in the Bible and some you can't find (denominational rules). You may have been told that God will "help you." After all, "God helps those who help themselves." (try to find that one in the Bible) You will try and you will fail. You might even resign yourself to getting back up and trying again and again and again.
But, is that what God desires? Is that the life that He promised through His Son Jesus? No! The Christian life cannot be lived in the flesh; no matter how hard you try. The flesh cannot cast out the flesh...."For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace" God doesn't want to "help" us live the life, He wants to be our life. He wants to live His life in us and through us. The only way that will happen is through complete surrender to Him and complete trust in Him. That is what walking in the Spirit is all about and only by walking in the Spirit will we not fulfill the desires of the flesh.
It is impossible for us to clean up our flesh no matter how hard we try. Those who try, noted by observation and personal experience, are doomed to a roller coaster ride of frustration and guilt. And their lives will exhibit the fruits of the flesh, "...immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these." In addition they will be the most critical of how their neighbor is living his life; always comparing themselves to others (I'm glad I'm not like that tax collector).
There is peace and rest in not having to struggle to keep a set of external rules that we can't keep anyway. Again, there are only two things that are required for a Christian to live the life he is called to live. Trust and Surrender. If you do so, God will live His life in you and through you and He will change you from the inside out. You will exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Is their any part of God's law that doesn't find an answer there?
