Four years ago I was diagnosed with food allergies. Even in trace-sized amounts, gluten and casein (a protein in dairy) were causing me significant discomfort. If I wanted to get better, they’d have to be removed from my diet. I was completely bummed with the diagnosis. I’d hoped my issues could be treated with medication. Not so. I’d have to change how I was eating. The thought of eliminating those two items out of my diet was overwhelming. Leaving the doctor’s office, all I could think about were the numerous foods I would never eat again.
Today, eating gluten and dairy-free is my new normal. Though at times I miss eating “real” pizza, cheesecake and a host of other foods, they are not a temptation to me at all. I feel radically better. The thought of eating them can make me feel sick. Recently, God brought this journey of dietary changes to my mind. He noted that approximately 70% of the items in a grocery store are not an option for me; not buying and eating them is an absolute no brainer. Why would I? The consequences of eating them FAR outweigh any momentary pleasure they might bring. Then God said: “Sin shouldn’t be an option either.”
In a new and fresh way, I got it! Sin shouldn’t be an option in the life of a child of God. It shouldn’t be, because the consequences of sin far outweigh any momentary pleasure. We can enjoy freedom from sin so much that the thought of sinning will make us feel sick!
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”
(Romans 6:1-2,6).
I read those words – words I’ve read MANY times, words I’ve taught many times, and I ask myself: what about those words do I think is optional?
I believe God is calling for a new mindset among His children, for the battle against sin begins in our mind!
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