Struggling with Scripture #5: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-9

I find it nearly impossible to control myself sometimes.  I'll eat too much food, enough that my stomach expands to the point of hurting while I'm eating.  I will lose track of time and spend several hours in front of my computer watching TV or playing video games when I wanted to only spend an hour.  My mind wanders from prayer into thinking about things of the world, like the latest iPhone, Kindle, video game, or I will think of some woman I just met.

And yet, we hear the call of Christ through Paul: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication, that each of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God..." (1 Thes 4: 3-5).  Control over our bodies includes control over our minds, control over our lusts (whether sexual or material, including food, relaxation, or possessions).  Control is something that people have struggled with for ages, and control is something we are called to obtain.

Yet, how is it possible when "I do what I don't want to do?" (Rom 7:15).  How can I follow Christ when I cannot control my own desires, when I cannot control my actions?  The answer is this: the cross of Christ.  The call of Christ is to pick up our cross and follow him...and that means that our eyes need to be on Jesus, our hearts and minds given over, abandoned to him, left in God's care.  When we abandon our desires for God's, when we give our bodies, hearts, and minds over to the Lord, then we shall not be consumed with the lusts of this world...then control comes naturally as we are fulfilled in Jesus. 

Jesus is the answer. The call to break with our lives is here, and now is the time to give ourselves over to God.  It's a radical sudden break...and a long and arduous journey.  We give our all up for Jesus, then  find there were parts of ourselves we never knew existed that we haven't given up...or we backslide.  And yet the call comes again..."control your own body...not by yourself or for yourself, but control it by giving everything to Jesus.  Then you will know the yoke that is easy, the burden that is light...and the love that knows no end as it fills your life."

"Lord teach me control myself...through abandonment to you."

Theology for Living #1: Choice

I have an odd habit of naming different periods in my life under three varying labels: I am "In Control" or life is "Spinning Out of Control" or I have "Lost Control."   These three categories have many synonymous phrases which help illuminate them, such as "life is going well" or "I need to get a grip" or  "Life is falling down around me." 

Yet, as a Christian, I proclaim that all of these labels and categories are simply faulty ways of looking at the world.  In fact, God is the only one who has the world in hand, and even then not every molecule is controlled by God!  Life, for the most part, just happens...for better or for worse.  Car batteries die, jobs are lost, jobs are gained, cars are fixed.  Relationships are made, relationships are broken, the sun goes up, and the sun goes down.

Sometimes we are forced into terrible predicaments brought on by other humans or nature - such as being raped, or being beaten to a pulp, or being very sick.  Other times, life goes on "as normal" until an amazing, or a horrendous, event turns our lives around and reshapes our perspectives and ways of thinking.  Most of life...simply happens without us asking for it to happen, without us liking what happens, and with us praying for life to change.

We, as Christians, are not in control of life.  So what are we in control of? What can we gain control of?  The answer is this: ourselves.  We control how we act in life and how we respond to life when life happens to us.  One day, we will be held accountable for every choice we make and action we take.  There isn't always one right answer, but there is always one right question: "Am I acting as Christ Himself would act?"

Let's take a moment together and breathe...breathe a deep breath before we speak a word, take an action, or respond to a situation.  Let's think about what Christ would do...for ultimately we cannot control what life does or brings to us, but we can choice how we will act and respond in the midst of those situations.

"Lord, help me surrender to your will, so that I may act and respond like you."