The Enemy Within: Chapter 10 (Pt 3)

My friend and I meet once a week to talk about this book, and I gain so much from our time together. I especially look forward to how he's going to describe the interaction he has with the text as Mr. Lundgaard or Mr. Owen or both have an uncanny knack for describing the human soul's interaction with sin.

We've talked often about how white hot the love for Christ was in the days soon after being saved. Prayer came easy as we were able to focus without rabbit trails distracting us. Bible reading was a joy as new discoveries were made daily. Times at church were so rich that we looked forward to it each week. Fighting sin and hating the world came much easier. God was tangible, real, almost touchable in the things He'd do to demonstrate His existence and love.

This may be a bit of exaggeration, but this is how we remember our early days as Christians and others we've talked to agree there's a special grace God gives new converts.

When we talk, we look back longing to get back to those days because prayer is difficult, Bible study seems dry, church is routine and fighting sin is hard with God seeming far away. After interacting with the material in the previous post on The Enemy Within I can see why this happened in my life. I actually should spend a lot more time comparing those 7 buckets of ice water to my life because if I look close enough, I think all 7 would apply in one way or another to me.

And, it is the imagery of forsaking one's first love that makes me think Jesus' words from Revelation 2:4-5 are talking about people like me who remember the heights from which I have fallen with Him and need to repent, doing the things I did when I first became a Christian or face worse judgment in my life.

This is why I'm so glad chapter 10 ends with a short section on 'Falling in Love Again.' I wish it went into more detail, but the gist is that if you heed the warning of vv. 4-5 above the blessing is that fellowship will be renewed with Christ, and that you can't heed that warning without making a consorted effort to "murder the flesh" (121).

On that note, another friend of mine made a very insightful observation about pride. I want to kill my pride so much. I hate pride with a passion and the numerous ways it sneakily and obviously expresses itself. I want it dead until someone says something that wounds it. Then, I protect it with a vengeance. I should want everyone to wound my pride constantly. The more attacks the better, but I don't really or else I'd welcome criticism and confrontation in my life rather than avoiding it. Something to chew on.