The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes begin to dissipate, we no longer find the pursuit of them as enticing as we once did, nor do we desire to. They are still there of course, as long as this world of sinful pleasures exists, they will be available, but they do not hold as much sway upon us as they once did, for we by the power of the Holy Spirit and our submission to His will are allowing our minds to be transformed.
The pride of life is a different matter, for in many cases it is all we have left, the accomplishments are recalled, the deeds we once did are remembered, and are in some cases still attainable, but it is the memory of them that can cause a man to stumble in this area of pride.
Now, you must determine here, am I speaking about an old man who resists the temptations of life because of a growing character within him that can only come with the advancement of years, or do these words reflect a person who is fulfilling Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Am I referring to one who understands and applies 1 Corinthians 9:27 to their daily walk with the Lord, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Along with “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” (Phil. 3:8)
I have met older persons who seem to hold within them all the character traits of a learned Christian who do not serve the Lord, and never have, and I have met younger individuals, though it is rarer, who have decided that a life lived for Christ is the only life worth living. What we learn with the passing of many decades of life is of no value to the Kingdom of God if it is not learned, and applied for His glory, there are many people who claim Jesus Christ as Lord who do not seem to be able to understand this. Time served does not mean a greater position in the Kingdom of the Lord, deeds done for His glory receive rewards.
We must compare Luke 17:10, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” With John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” What more is there than obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, are we not told to obey His will and Word, to live a life that is pleasing to Him through obedience?
Paul learned, as have many others, that obedience to the law was not the most important thing, it was the correct thing to do, but it gained a man nothing, it was counted as dung. The things of the world do not disappear when we obey Christ, they dissipate in value to us when we love Him. You do not need to reach a great age to recognize this, though sadly that is what it takes for some of us, for the pull of this world of Satan and all it offers is indeed strong, and the flesh, our old nature, does not release authority over us easily.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Gal. 5:17)
Something more, something greater, something more desirable must be offered for us to leave what we have known for so long, and obedience does not fulfill that requirement. Love does. But not our love for the Savior, the recognition and acceptance of His love for us does. “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Consider those who are truly saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ who, after having done all that was commanded them, then are called unprofitable, and then look upon those who did those exact same things, but did them out of love, those who will receive many rewards, who lived a life pleasing to the Lord solely out of a love for Him. It is sad that it takes so many decades of life for some of us to see these truths, hopefully it will not take you that long.
