Daily Devotional for Saturday, February 1

The Great Battle

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would;' Galatians 5:17.

A conflict we are all familiar with is the struggle between good and evil. This struggle has been the subject of popular books and television for many years. One of the earlier depictions of this battle is found in a 1938 animated short film entitled, "Donald's Better Self." Donald Duck is being influenced by an angelic version of himself, complete with halo and a white robe, perched on one shoulder, and a devil-like version of himself, sporting horns and a pitchfork, on the other. The good self is urging Donald to be responsible and make good decisions. His bad self, on the other shoulder, tempts him to stay in bed and skip school. Donald finds himself caught in the middle of this classic struggle between the spirit and the flesh. Though just an animated cartoon, the warfare it illustrates rings familiar.

Our warfare owes its existence to the dual nature of the humanbeing. Paul was addressing fellow-believers when he spoke of two natures, one contrary to the other, that compete for control. The Holy Spirit, which indwells the believer at the point of faith in Jesus Christ, leads you to serve Jesus, while the flesh, which is still corrupt, desires to serve sin and self.

Paul understood this conflict all too well, "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Romans 7:21-23).

REFLECTION

Which of the two natures in your life wins the battle? The strongest. Which nature is the strongest?

The one that you feed. Which are you feeding, flesh or spirit?

The outcome of the great battle rests in your answer to this question.

John Nations