The Lust of the Flesh

Autumn on the farm means primarily one thing: downsizing. I walk meditatively among my animals and pause and reflect among many of them. I decide which ones I will keep and which ones I will sell or slaughter. Winter drives the beasties into the barn and all that they eat comes from my pocketbook instead of what the Lord has produced in their pasture. Old laying hens will soon meet the plucking machine...breeders who haven't produced well will meet the gambrel...temperamental goats that don't share food with their neighbors will share their own selves soon...and the ones who were destined from birth (wethers) will finally live up the names they've borne for the past 8 months or so. Let's see, there's Baby Beef, Little Sausage, etc....

I'm not hungry, but I cannot help gazing over my flock and mentally pick off the ones I know will taste so good; I am imagining maple sausages, grilled chops, meatballs, stews, and roasts. Jokingly, we say I am literally lusting after their flesh and they don't seem to know it. They contentedly munch their hay and grain and bleat with their little tails wagging.

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said,'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.' Jesus answered,'It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"(Matthew 4:2-4)

When Jesus was tempted with turning the stones into bread, it was referred to as being tempted with 'the lust of the flesh'. The other things he was tempted with were called 'the lust of the eyes' and 'the pride of life'. However, lust of the flesh is simply desiring something natural to desire. Jesus was legitimately very hungry. If he were not hungry, it wouldn't have been much of a temptation. However, it was the Spirit who led him into the desert, so it must be the Spirit who was to sustain him. He passed the test. He was not supposed to use his divine power to satiate his flesh.

Lust of the flesh takes on many, many forms that are overlooked. For example, have you ever had a task that you knew you should complete, but you yielded to your tiredness and didn't complete it? Tiredness is natural and is no more sinful than desiring bread when you haven't eaten in 40 days. Have we tried the divine path when tempted with quitting? We could say,"It is written: You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised (Heb. 10:36)".

The Lord is not looking to build an army of weak-willed people who cave to natural cravings. Yes, we are fearfully and wonderfully made so that our body signals when we are to satisfy a need. But one need so desperately forsaken is the need to exercise our spiritual self. We are more than flesh, we are born again...born of the Spirit of the One who raised himself from the dead! Surely, we are more than ovecomers!(Romans 8:37)

I am not suggesting that I am strong. Indeed, I am weak. However, God transforms my helplessness into something beautiful that He can use. A leaf that desperately tries to dig it's little stem into the ground will weary itself with each puff of wind that tests it's resolve; plus, it is likely it will become trampled into the ground and will become nothing more than the dirt it's pressed into. However, a leaf that yields itself to the wind, takes flight and rides the current of the wind and avoids being trampled underfoot. I am that leaf. May the power of the Living God move me and use me. Breathe on me, O Breath of Life.

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." Romans 6:6

So, it is written.