Life Support

   Many people find themselves in climates that are detrimental to their health.  The effects are different from individual to individual.  Some people have difficulty tolerating severe heat while others suffer under extremely cold temperatures.  Different individuals struggle with high humidity or too much pollen in the air or heavy concentrations of mold and mildew or other agents to which they are allergic.  In many cases, their environments prove to be hostile enough that some folks have to move to a different location that is more supportive of their physical well being.

   The same scenario can be seen from a spiritual perspective.  People can find themselves in environments that are hostile to their spiritual well being.  Some job environments are difficult to work in and be a faithful Christian at the same time.  Some people are caught up in recreational pursuits that compete for their time and focus to the point that they cannot give proper emphasis to spiritual matters.  Some people’s friends are just plain bad influences and pull them down spiritually.  Some home environments are antagonistic to maintaining good spiritual health.  What’s to be done in such circumstances?
   Everybody needs to regularly assess his life’s direction from a spiritual perspective (2 Cor. 13:5).  If his spiritual life is suffering, he needs to make adjustments to correct the situation.  One thing needs to be kept in the forefront of one’s mind: “Heaven is where I want to be for eternity.  If I don’t get to Heaven, my life’s an utter failure.  Anything in my life that is keeping me from getting to Heaven needs to be corrected.”
   Sometimes, hard choices have to be made.  But ending up in the eternal condemnation of Hell will be far harder than any adjustment we have to make in our life in this world to insure our spiritual well being and eternal destiny.
   The apostle Paul laid out the contrast between two opposing lifestyles (Gal. 5:19-23).  The one, described in vs. 19-21, will lead to our eternal destruction.  Living such a lifestyle as characterized in those verses will keep us out of Heaven.  The other, described in vs. 22-23, will promote our spiritual strength and assure us of an eternal home in Heaven.  Which kind of lifestyle we choose to live should be a no-brainer!
   How do we insure that we live a lifestyle that is properly focused spiritually?  The Holy Spirit guided the writers of God’s word to give us the direction we need (2 Tim. 3:15-17).  If we live by the Spirit’s guidance, as revealed in God’s word, we can be assured of eternity with God in Heaven (Gal. 5:24-25). 
   In our journey to Heaven, we have to live in this world for awhile.  How we live here will play a big part in whether we get to be there.  At times, this world can be hostile to our spiritual life.  But, through the word, the Spirit gives us “life-support!”…