“Do not be drunk with
wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”
(Ephesians 5:18)
Just a few days ago, much of the world
celebrated what is called “Christmas,” a
holiday that seems to be giving presents, performing charitable acts and
giving thanks to God. The holiday had its origins in the birth of the
Lord Jesus
Christ, but it has been commercialized to a point where
shopping seems more important than giving, and giving attention to the mythical Santa
Claus has become more important than faith in the Lord.
Now it’s time for the start of a New Year in
much of the world, approximately 2009 years after the
Savior’s birth. The reality though, is that most view this time as an
opportunity to bring the consumption of alcohol to a record high, while seeking to be
"filled" with God’s Holy
Spirit has become a less popular choice. The one does exclude the Other.
A good thing about the New Year is that it
provides an
opportunity. Many make so-called New Year’s “resolutions”
in which they promise to live different, better lives than they have
done in the past. Unfortunately, such decisions don’t work very well,
for the resolve to not do certain things can actually lead to doing
what we decide not to do.
I remember when I was very little, perhaps four,
being encouraged by my mother to make some kind of resolution. With
great confidence, I did exactly as she said, promising to not do
something ever again. I was excited at the thought of living a life free
from whatever it was, but then, in about three weeks, I found myself
doing precisely what I did not want to do. The next year, again at the
encouragement of my ever-hopeful mother, I tried it once more. With my
new found maturity at age five; this time it would work. But it didn’t.
I remember observing that my resolve to not do whatever-it-was didn’t
even last as long as it did before. It never occurred to me that I
needed help. Oh yes, my mother encouraged me all the way,
but the help we need is not merely from a human being; it’s Someone we need who will support us on the INSIDE of our very being.
We live in a drug-dependent society, don’t we?
As mentioned in our Scripture for today, being “drunk
with wine” or some other type of alcoholic drink is even more
rampant today than it was 2000 years ago when those words were written.
The idea of “resolutions” at the New Year
is no longer mentioned quite so much because people everywhere have failed so
miserably at changing for the good - fewer-and-fewer even bother to
try.
And it isn’t just alcohol that is the problem of
humanity. People, including scientists and drug dealers have literally
beaten the bushes around the world, looking for new extracts that will,
some hope, anesthetize sufferers during surgery; whereas others merely
think of new drugs as ways to make a profit. Caffeine, nicotine,
steroids… the list of substances that we can become addicted to seems to
be endless, and it isn’t just the substances themselves that are
humanity’s problem. Shopping, promiscuous sex, addictions, overeating –
if people could become addicted to excessive breathing, we probably
would. We all need help. We need it in our very being; we need to be
changed inside.
Paul the Apostle wrote the words in today’s
Scripture, for on a very deep level, he had wrestled with the same problem.
He had hoped to be live up to a standard, but failed. In his case,
he wanted to do that which would be considered unusual today – he wanted
to live according to the “law” of God. When
Paul read the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), he liked seeing that we
should honor God and treat other people well. But then one day, as he
read the Tenth Commandment carefully, he discovered a problem. There was
something wrong - he coveted; he wanted what he should not have.
Here’s the Tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet
your neighbor’s wife, nor…” desire to have anything that belongs
to your neighbor (Exodus 20:17). Paul was troubled and said, “I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said,
‘You shall not covet’… I do not understand;
for what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I
do…” and he continued, “it is no longer I
who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:7-17). He
desired that which did not belong to him.
The Law of God reveals to humanity that
something is wrong in all of us. Paul continued in that chapter in
Romans; “O wretched man that I am! Who will
deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). He saw his
need for a Deliverer, and that is the great divide between our need
for God and what earthly religions offer. Paul answers his own question
about what he lacked: “Jesus Christ our Lord!”
was the answer (Romans 7:25). If we entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, we
find
forgiveness and are given God’s Holy Spirit, who does indeed help us
change for the good.
Paul completes the thought in Romans 8:1 and its
context by shouting out the victory we have in our Lord: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to
the Spirit!” And that brings us to our Scripture in Ephesians for
today. It tells us more than, “Do not be drunk
with wine”… It also says, “be filled with
the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). The One excludes the other.
We don’t really understand God like we should.
He is given to us as our Father, but if our earthly father was stern and
unforgiving, we think God is like that, too. We are given the Son, but
most think of Him as an "example" rather than trusting in Him as
our Savior.
Religion tends to be external for most people, but to “be filled with the Spirit” is to accept the help we
need and be changed for the good inside our very being.
People make "Resolutions"
at the time of the New Year; perhaps more than one. Is there some change
you want to make in your life? A process is involved. Give your need to
God through Jesus Christ. Tell Him, as Paul did, that you have failed
and need His help. Accept it that the Son of God died for your sins and
will set you free. Let yourself believe in Him like never before. Thank
Him for what He has done and receive His Holy Spirit. Continue to take
the failures in your life to Him, and watch Him change who and what you
are. Slowly, surely, a process wrought by God in you begins to change –
everything.
Lord, forgive my sin. I trust in You now.
Please change me inside. Fill me with Your Spirit and let me know Your
peace. Thank You. I praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
