Members speerjp1 Posted February 19, 2008 Members Share Posted February 19, 2008 I've had an epiphany: the reason there are so many "gray areas" in life is because we've reached our conclusions through applications of "gray matter" instead of applications of God's Word. Just a thought. :ideas: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John81 Posted February 19, 2008 Members Share Posted February 19, 2008 That's an astute observation! Indeed, many "gray areas" are nothing more than the over-thinking of an issue rather than the reliance upon what Scripture says. Along the same lines, many "gray areas" come about because some folks would rather use their own reasoning to come to a conclusion upon a matter rather than to take the time to search the Scriptures in prayer for the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Madeline Posted February 22, 2008 Members Share Posted February 22, 2008 In my experience and observation, "gray areas" only come up when we are operating from a position of weakness based upon either 1) past mistakes that put us into difficult circumstances that were not God's first-best will for us, or 2) kinks in our hearts wherein through a lack of complete trust or willingness however large or small we allow ourselves to be pressured into rationalizing what in our heart of hearts we know to be the real truth about what we should do or not do, or 3) deficiencies in our spiritual growth (wherein we have not yet come to know the truth about certain things). It should be noted that every single human being, every single believer, is culpable and vulnerable to all three of the above - it is a matter of degrees. But it is also a matter of direction and velocity. As dedicated believers in Jesus Christ, we should be pointed in the exact right compass direction, straight and true (not off a few degrees, and certainly not off 180 degrees!), and we should be walking briskly up the high road to Zion, growing in Jesus and producing for Jesus day by day. The issue in our fight, our challenge to live as Jesus wants us to live, is not to look backward at past mistakes or to look sideways at present imperfections, but rather to look forward and make it a point from here on out - wherever "here" is - to confess past sins and acknowledge past mistakes and put them behind us, to give ourselves over to the Lord in ever greater trust and reliance no matter what the circumstances may be, and to do our best to learn His truth and grow in as best we can day by day. The more we hew to the course of spiritual growth, learning about the Word of God and applying it more and more consistently day by day, the more we will find that not only do all of the "gray areas" begin to disappear, but that we also are more willing and more able to walk the path that the Lord is beckoning us to walk exactly as He would have us walk it. Proverbs 4:18 - But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Love, Madeline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators HappyChristian Posted February 22, 2008 Administrators Share Posted February 22, 2008 I've had an epiphany: the reason there are so many "gray areas" in life is because we've reached our conclusions through applications of "gray matter" instead of applications of God's Word. Just a thought. :ideas: :thumb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lighthouse Posted February 22, 2008 Members Share Posted February 22, 2008 I've had an epiphany Did it hurt? :Green :humble: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speerjp1 Posted February 22, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2008 In my experience and observation, "gray areas" only come up when we are operating from a position of weakness based upon either 1) past mistakes that put us into difficult circumstances that were not God's first-best will for us, or 2) kinks in our hearts wherein through a lack of complete trust or willingness however large or small we allow ourselves to be pressured into rationalizing what in our heart of hearts we know to be the real truth about what we should do or not do, or 3) deficiencies in our spiritual growth (wherein we have not yet come to know the truth about certain things). It should be noted that every single human being, every single believer, is culpable and vulnerable to all three of the above - it is a matter of degrees. But it is also a matter of direction and velocity. As dedicated believers in Jesus Christ, we should be pointed in the exact right compass direction, straight and true (not off a few degrees, and certainly not off 180 degrees!), and we should be walking briskly up the high road to Zion, growing in Jesus and producing for Jesus day by day. The issue in our fight, our challenge to live as Jesus wants us to live, is not to look backward at past mistakes or to look sideways at present imperfections, but rather to look forward and make it a point from here on out - wherever "here" is - to confess past sins and acknowledge past mistakes and put them behind us, to give ourselves over to the Lord in ever greater trust and reliance no matter what the circumstances may be, and to do our best to learn His truth and grow in as best we can day by day. The more we hew to the course of spiritual growth, learning about the Word of God and applying it more and more consistently day by day, the more we will find that not only do all of the "gray areas" begin to disappear, but that we also are more willing and more able to walk the path that the Lord is beckoning us to walk exactly as He would have us walk it. Proverbs 4:18 - But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Love, Madeline That sounds a lot like what I was thinking when I originally posted. Our merely human brains are so prone to remembering the past, remembering sin, holding on to wrong conclusions, and wrongly dividing God's Word. To make things worse, our natural minds are genius when it comes to rationalizing and justifying all these spiritually detrimental processes. That is why when we study God's Word, it should be kept at the forefront of our hearts to study it honestly and only take from it what the Holy Spirit shows us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speerjp1 Posted February 22, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2008 Did it hurt? :Green Yes. :finally: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 282Mikado Posted February 22, 2008 Members Share Posted February 22, 2008 I've had an epiphany: the reason there are so many "gray areas" in life is because we've reached our conclusions through applications of "gray matter" instead of applications of God's Word. Just a thought. :ideas: Assuming your thought came via your grey matter, would it too then be a grey area? :uuhm: Good post by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speerjp1 Posted February 22, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2008 Assuming your thought came via your grey matter, would it too then be a grey area? :uuhm: Good post by the way! I didn't come to that conclusion through any normal human thought process [read: thinking for myself and for my own benefit] and it goes against what my flesh wants, so I've taken it as from God through the truth of his word. :saint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.