Romans 8:7

"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot."

I was reading this verse the other night, and what it's saying finally hit me. I'll paraphrase it:

"The mind that is focused on worldly things does not and CANNOT obey God, therefore it is opposed to Him."

The whole passage surrounding this verse relates the black-and-white difference between living "in the flesh" and living "in the Spirit." Paul doesn't really give much middle ground in this whole part of the chapter. You're either living for worldly things and yourself, or you're living for God. Jesus Himself made it clear that we can't serve two masters. In Romans 8:6, Paul reveals the end results of either direction one may take:

"To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

Some food for thought as we enter the most consumeristic season of the year.

In other news, I'm really glad it's finally Christmas Break. I miss having time to talk about Scripture like this...a sad thing to say since I go to a "Christian" university.

I'm also glad that I can catch up on my reading. Not only do I want to finish memorizing Romans chapter 8 over break, but I also have a stack of classic literary stories I want to get into. I'm pretty excited for all this!

Peace.