“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live.” Galatians 2:20 KJV

“Spiritual life comes, not by survival at any cost by any means, but in willing sacrifice.”

My thoughts today are about “survival instinct.”

People have an amazing instinct for life. No effort is spared to avoid harm and extend life, without regard to cost or other considerations. Innately, each person knows they were born for life not death, even eternal life! Solomon wrote, “God has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV. Death is an imposition that sin and disobedience imposed into our world from the beginning.

Your natural instinct is self-preservation, whatever the accommodation you have to make to anything or anyone else. Did you know that your body takes drastic steps to survive? The “fight or flight” response is one of those instincts; when faced with stress or danger, a biological trigger helps a person decide whether to stay and fight or whether to flee the danger. Both are mechanisms for survival.

When you are endangered, the “brain’s hypothalamus is activated, releasing a series of chemical releases and nerve cell responses that prepares you for surviving the impending threat. Adrenaline is released into the blood stream, where your heart rate increases and oxygenated blood is pumped more quickly into your muscles and limbs. Your awareness, sight, and impulses all intensify and quicken to facilitate your odds of survival.”

The problem is that your natural, survival instinct conflicts with a greater spiritual principle. God made you to love and cherish life, but not for yourself alone. Life that is lived for the moment only, or your pleasure, or for yourself alone is a life not worth living. Paul had a clear priority when he wrote, “My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus . . the work of telling others . . about God’s wonderful kindness and love.” Acts 20:22-24 NLT. Make your life worth something worthwhile that touches eternity.

Spiritual life comes, not in survival at any cost and by any means, but in willing sacrifice. In 1707 Isaac Watts wrote, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.” When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, 1707. “If you try to keep your life for yourself you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life.” Luke 9:23-24 NLT.

Jesus said you save your life by giving it to God; that is counter-intuitive to everything that is natural to you. Yet this is the promised result that the apostle Paul discovered, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 NIV.

My prayer for you today is to invest your life in spiritual pursuit of eternal value.

Devotionals fight or flight, Galatians 2:20, Isacc Watts, Luke 9:23-24, natural, survial instinct

“Until Christ’s nature is formed in you.” Galatians 4:19 Today’s English Version

“You can be less like you and more like Jesus. That’s not natural; it’s supernatural.”

My thoughts today are that “it’s not natural.”

You can go through life feeling pretty good about doing what comes naturally, but I think there will be times that you as well as others may be a bit shocked to find what is natural to you. The Bible does not give a very encouraging picture of people who live according to their own nature . . “live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature . .” Ephesians 1:3 NLT. That evil nature is at the root of everything that comes naturally to you.

Ever wondered how that original nature can still affect a Christ-follower? Paul described three states of spiritual life - the natural man, who is oblivious to God and lives by his own wits, will, strength, and resource – the carnal man, who is redeemed and forgiven but still struggles with the old nature – and the spiritual man, who is redeemed, submitted and obedient to God, and living by the power of the Holy Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3 NKJV.

There is a significant distance between the natural and spiritual man, some noticeable difference between the natural man and the carnal Christian, and a greater measure of distinction between the carnal and spiritual Christian. Another picture of these three stages might be seen as: unborn, immature, and mature – not by chronological age, but by spiritual development and understanding.

The carnal Christian is a person alive in Christ through salvation, but often dominated by worldly affections and attractions. What does that look like, according to Paul? “You are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT. Such people appear as unsure of themselves, insecure in their salvation, conflicted in their spiritual commitment, unpredictable in behavior, and inconsistent in matters of faith and daily life. Now that’s natural.

Paul had great compassion for those who struggle in such ways in their spiritual lives. “My dear children! Once again I, just like a mother in childbirth, I feel the same kind of pain for you until Christ’s nature is formed in you.” Galatians 4:19 TEV. Can you feel Paul’s heart as you read his words, a spiritual father having personally birthed many of these Christians in Galatia? (Galatia was a province in modern Turkey settled by the Gauls from France, and including cities such as Antioch, Phrygia, Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium). See Acts 13/14. See Acts 13:42-49.

Imagine what it is to have Christ’s very own nature being progressively and increasingly formed in you! Romans 8:28-29 NIV. What would be different about you, better about you? Stated in the simplest of terms, you would be less and less like you and more and more like Jesus! Now that’s an incredible possibility. John the Baptist caught that excitement when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 NKJV. That’s not natural; it’s supernatural. Where, and in what ways, would you like that to begin in you today?

My prayer for you today is: chose the supernatural every time. Anyone can do the other.

Devotionals carnal, natural, nature, spiritual, supernatural