Life on God's Terms

When I was a kid my mom drove a blue Buick Park Avenue. Oh, it was something…what with its faux wood paneling, fancy blue velour seats and automatic windows! Really what it was, was a boat…a big blue boat. But she was proud of that car and drove it forever. Our boat sounded like a boat roaring onto shore as well. This Buick was one of GM’s converted diesels. The program was an attempt to save consumers money back in the day when diesel was cheaper. Program didn't work because the cars with gasoline parts couldn't handle the power of the diesel-fueled engine. As a kid, all I understood was that if we put the wrong kind of fuel in my mother’s car, bad things would happen. I wasn't sure what kind of earth-shattering, axis-rotating, universe-bending horrors would happen. I just made sure she used diesel. Turns out what would have happened is that the diesel engine would have lost power because the gasoline doesn't fire with the same power. Diesel owners who have made this mistake describe their vehicles “not catching speed.” Ultimately, the gasoline has to be drained and depending upon use, cylinders, hoses, and filters have to be cleaned or replaced. Repairs were described costing anywhere between $300 and $10,000. Point being, the wrong fuel left the engine a powerless mess. (*what is she talking about???!?*) Paul tells the Romans in chapter 8 verses 10-11, “But if the Messiah is in you, the body is indeed dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of covenant faithfulness. So then, if the spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives within you, the one who raised the Messiah from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies, too, through his spirit who lives within you.” When Jesus took my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh, when Jesus wholly saved me from my sin, when Jesus regenerated my life by His Spirit, I got a new engine. And that engine requires different fuel. If I fuel my life with the world’s cheap imitation gasoline, I become a powerless mess. In verses 5 and 6 Paul further explains: “Look at it like this. People whose lives are determined by human flesh focus their minds on matters to do with the flesh, but people whose lives are determined by the spirit focus their minds on matters to do with the spirit. Focus on flesh, and you’ll die; but focus on the spirit, and you’ll have life and peace.” If I fuel my life with the Spirit’s power, I become a powerful force for life and peace. So then if we understand the importance of keeping a diesel engine fueled-up with diesel fuel so that it can run, how then do we understand being filled with the Holy Spirit in order to live life on God’s terms? Really it boils down to asking and receiving. It’s a faith thing, to be sure! But that faith to receive the power of the Holy Spirit is aided by our attention to the things of the Spirit rather than the things of the world. Junk in, junk out, right? That’s why Paul encourages the believers to set their minds on Spiritual, not earthly things. The advice is still valid today. Ask God for more of His Spirit. Set yourself in places to be influenced by His Spirit. Respond to His Spirit. You will begin to feel the influence of His Spirit in your thoughts. When you take corresponding action, you align your will with God’s will and this creates combustion, like the pistons firing that revs the motor! Remember you can’t steer a parked car. So move when the Spirit says move. This is a lifetime work called sanctification. But it is possible, when we live life on God’s terms.