Chapter 8 continues with this same concept. That because of Christ, the fateful dilemma is resolved - there isn't a question of "one way or the other"... A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. (Romans 8:2 The Message)
God didn't deal with the problem mankind was dealing with lightly. He took it upon himself to come to earth in the form of man. The law code had been fractured by human nature... and so it in itself could not have done what Jesus did for us, in order to set things right.
The old law was like a band-aid, but it didn't deeply heal sin. So now instead of being tied to the law code, we simply embrace what the spirit is doing in us. Personally, what I see is this: there are a lot of Christians out there still trying to tie in the old law to life - and no so much their life, but to the lives of others... but the thing is, we are all saved by Christ from the ways of the old law code and from the death of sin. As Christians, we believe in Jesus, and his covenant that he brought forth by his death. And that is what we should be applying, not the old laws. And we should focus on applying it in our own lives, not worry about how someone else applies it in their's. "Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God!" (Romans 8:5)
If we have accepted God into our lives, we shouldn't be self-focused... we should be thinking of Him and living life on his terms. There is no need to do-it-yourself, when you have God to do it for you. We have inherited what Christ has done for us. He will be with us through the hard times, and through the good times. I've been personally seeing this lately... when I finally gave myself, my family, my marriage over to God and let him drive, it just seemed so much better. Now that I'm heading down the right path in my life and letting go of my self, God is raining his blessings, and he's showing me how to live with him in my heart and walking beside me daily. How to love others and how to focus on having a loving spirit, Christ's spirit, dwelling inside of me and how to show it.
I'm far from perfect, and as I'm discovering a new point of view and a new life, I want to share it, but at times I struggle with how. And of course I'm getting a lot of recourse from people who think I'm wrong for the way I look at certain things now, but if I'm going to look at one thing through the loving spirit of Christ, I have to look at all things that way. I've seen so many Christians walk around with the WWJD bracelet... but we really have to stop ourselves, every time we are faced with a choice or question, and ask God. We have to turn to him and let him guide our answer and our decisions. Not our misguided personal agendas.
And even though this world is sometimes difficult, confusing, painful, and even irritating... God is there with us through it, and is within us. And we don't always know what or how to pray - but God knows our heart, he lives in our heart, not on our lips or within our minds... He hears what is unspoken and understands what is not explained... "Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." (Romans 8:27-28)
And no matter what the world, or life throws at us, it doesn't matter. With God on our side, we can't lose. "Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture." (Romans 8:39) None of it should even faze us... through faith in Christ, we are God's chosen people.
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