Spiritual Fitness & Living With Chronic Pain

This particular entry relates to my last blog in which I spoke about the choice to live according to the Spirit, even though I was and am still experiencing the flu crud…Let me explain what I meant when I emphasized “to live according to the Spirit.” It took me years of pain to satisfactorily grasp the meaning behind this…

Theological terms like born-again, new creation and regenerate man, just to mention a few, represent the newness of life for anyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ. And when this declaration of salvation occurs, literally, as well as instantaneously, all who believe undergo a miraculous spiritual conversion. It’s beautiful. There is no other reality like this. As examples of this transformation, peace, freedom, newness, forgiveness and love begin to connect you with an awesome, infinite God. You are given a clean slate by God to live life fully.

Back to my point…Although this new relationship with God occurs, this does not mean your body also undergoes immediate perfection. In fact the contrary occurs. You will only be given a newly-designed body when you actually die, meaning when your spirit actually leaves your dead body. For now, expect the aches and pains of the body to scream even louder against the assurance of your newly-found faith in Jesus Christ. Your mortal body will try everything to pull you back into the slavery of sin.

That’s why it is critical “to live according to the Spirit” and to put to death the desires of your body. The Spirit has come to make you free against the chains of this world, regardless of your painful suffering and the length of time it lasts. You will not find this new life nor will you discover the meaningfulness of the kingdom of God if you continually follow the instincts of your mortal body.

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