This quote has been a blessing to me in the trenches of my battle between the flesh and spirit. It clearly and helpfully portrays the underlining conflict and central desire of our hearts: fullness.“On the most basic levels, I desire fullness, and fleshly lusts seduce me by attaching themselves to this basic desire. They exploit the empty spaces in me, and they promise that fulness will be mine if I give in to their demands. When my soul sits empty and is aching for something to fill it, such deceptive promises are extremely difficult to resist.
Consequently, the key to mortifying fleshly lusts is to eliminate the emptiness within me and replace it with fullness; and I accomplish this by feasting on the gospel. Indeed, it is in the gospel that I experience a God who glorifies Himself by filling me with His fullness. . . . This is the God of the gospel, a God who is satisfied with nothing less than my experience of fullness in Him! . . .
Indeed, as I perpetually feast on Christ and all His blessings found in the gospel, I find that my hunger for sin diminishes and the lies of lust simply lose their appeal. Hence, to the degree that I am full, I am free. Eyes do not rove, nor do fleshly lusts rule, when the heart is fat with the love of Jesus!”
- Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians (2008), 45-46.
(HT: OFI)
I loved this reading! Oh to know Christ more fully - reminds me of John 15. To abide in Him and He in me...that's what I desire in life. What a glorious things it is to be so in love with Jesus, losing all sight of things around me, and having the hunger for sin diminishing - wow!
ReplyDeleteThis is so true! The longer I strayed, the more temptation I felt until I turned back to God. And then I was full and content with loving a godly life.
ReplyDelete[...] Which set me to thinking, as everything always does, about the relentless condition of my own soul. It seems as if I am never content, but always want more and will search vigorously to find fulfillment; many times in the wrong places. The emptiness inside reveals my need for fullness. [...]
ReplyDelete