(March 5, 2014)
I have read these chapters countless times, and I read over the word carnal without paying it any heed. But the word carnal is actually an important word, and I realized that I might not fully understand it. Nowadays, the word has the connotation of sensual, but according to the dictionary the meaning was more interesting – carnal is given the definition of “not spiritual, simply human.’
Reading the words of Abinidi with this definition in mind provides us an entirely different meaning. We are certainly human, but that cannot be all that we are. Humans are destined for death and decay – if we live as though that was all that we were (even if we are a ‘good’ simple human), we will be among those who weep and wail and gnash our teeth. We must become spiritual – putting off the natural man in the context of not only our lusts but rather our entire concept of who we are. We must see ourselves as who we really are and learn to look past our physical selves.
This is frightening, because it is an area that I have so very far to go. I have been frightened in other ways recently, but this is a fear spawned by the trembling before God as we turn to repentance. I am being convicted in my conscience of my desperate circumstances before God.
No comments:
Post a Comment