Cows do it. So do horses. We’ve seen them leaning against a fence, pushing as hard as they can, nibbling at shoots of grass on the other side. We laugh, because the grass at their feet is often just as green as that inches away.
Oh, and people, too. We stand at our fence, look into the next field, and decide that what’s going on there is much better than what’s happening in our own yard. The neighbor’s car is shinier, we need a better job, and then we start thinking about a different spouse. Wouldn’t that make life a little sweeter, a little more enjoyable?
Then what do we do? Yep, we lean out as far as we can reach, and we nip the budding shoots that don’t belong to us.
Here’s where the problem lies: When the Christian leans over God’s spiritual fence to nibble the greener grass, it’s easy for the devil to rear up and bite us on the nose. He’s a snake looking for every opportunity to cause us pain. If he can do it through temptation and sin, he will.
Romans 5:12 reveals the barren spiritual fields of man’s existence:
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned―”
Romans 3:23 recognizes our starving condition, and that we need spiritual replenishing:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:8 says that God the provider spreads the soil with bountiful seed, that we might be filled spiritually with his grace and love:
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
What we need in order to successfully live in Christ isn’t found over the fence, or in the next field. More expensive cars, higher-paying jobs, and a more attractive spouse won’t make us any happier. Our happiness comes in accepting God’s blessing through Christ on the cross.
Romans 6:23 assures us the greenest grass available is already ours:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What else could we want?
When we quit thinking like the world, we’ll no longer want to become like the world.
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Code: FGO.D.05.16b.vp.esv