“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.” (Romans 6:12-13)
The word translated as “weapon” here can also be translated as implement, utensil, tool, instrument or armor. The idea of a tool that is “offensive for war” fits well with the theme woven throughout Scripture of spiritual warfare and the idea of righteousness versus unrighteousness—but it’s interesting to insert the word that makes the most sense for you. Perhaps you better understand the idea of tools being used to build a structure that is safe versus one that isn’t. Or the thought of kitchen utensils being used to make unhealthy food versus food that nourishes.
In all cases, the exact same implements are used, but for entirely opposite purposes and outcomes.
We only get one body, that lasts only so long—and we have been given the freedom to make the choices about how, when, where and why we use it. I find myself challenged by these verses to be more intentional about those choices, asking more often the searching question: will this action further the cause of righteousness…or not?
P.S. See this original post for info about this photo challenge and more about this reading plan I’m using this summer for the book of Romans (and I’d love to have you join in!)!
We paused on our evening walk by a stand of sturdy broad-leafed plants, with their rounded flower heads bursting demurely into dusty pink. It’s a habit formed in kindergarten for both of us, this annual foray into a milkweed patch. After years of monarch caterpillar awareness, we “knew” that it was just that time of summer that there should be some caterpillars in that milkweed, somewhere. And we needed to say hello, show them to our girls, maybe remind them that there’s a nice little flower garden full of butterfly-friendly flowers in front of our house that they’re welcome to visit when they’re grown up.
It was a delightful little game of hide-and-seek, peering under leaves, along stems—and it was a credit to surprisingly clever camouflage that we had almost given up when we finally spotted one. But then it was like our eyes adjusted and we suddenly saw them everywhere! Some tiny, some large, dressed in yellow, black and white stripes, far too busy eating to notice they’d been discovered by friendly nature enthusiasts. Did you know that a Monarch caterpillar is capable of eating an entire milkweed leaf in less than five minutes? Pretty amazing mouth-work for such a tiny creature!
A few weeks later, walking past the same stand of milkweed, I witnessed a delicate orange and black butterfly flitting from flower to flower, graciously sipping nectar, and I found myself marveling anew at the beauty of God’s design for sustainability in creation.
And while we’re marveling over Monarch butterflies, let’s not forget how those gorgeously designed wings covered in tiny delicate scales will carry this creature 2,500 miles to Mexico come fall, to spend a warm winter on the exact same few trees its ancestors have spent winters on for ages before, and then all the way back again in the spring to lay the eggs that will become that next generation of caterpillars—because there isn’t any milkweed in Mexico!
…my camera gave to me,
Lately there’s been a lot of extra activity around my flower pots and garden. Maybe it’s because they all know that cold weather is right around the corner, and aren’t lulled into complacency by the recent heat wave like the rest of us. At any rate, the hummingbirds, butterflies and bees have been busier among my flowers than they’ve been all summer. In fact, they’ve been so absorbed in the accumulation of nectar and pollen that they’ve hardly seemed to mind when I came by with my camera.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
To drink to the fill and be completely satisfied, as He promises.
Last weekend, we went to the zoo.
Unlike most of the animal exhibits, which required you to observe them through glass or behind fences, the hoop house containing the butterflies was completely interactive. They were free to flutter all around us and even land on us if they wished as we wandered along little pathways through a maze of wonderfully fragrant flowers—and short of actually touching them, we could get as close to them as we wanted, too.
There’s something wonderful about kneeling beneath the sweetly scented white trumpets of nicotiana to show your wide-eyed two-year-old a blue Doris Longwing straight from the Amazon jungle, slowly opening and closing its stunning wings—and be reminded in yet another new and exotic way of what a beautiful world our Creator has made.
Rejoicing Hills 