November 20, 2016
Through God’s divine power, he has given us his divine nature so we can live a fulfilling life and not be led around in confusion by our corrupted nature—1 Peter 2:4 (King Jimmy Translation).
Following Our Nature
Your humble Aggie scribe went to Del Rio in southwest Texas to visit his ninety-year old father. Pastor Eddie Eskew’s description of Del Rio hasn’t changed in thirty years: “Del Rio is Heaven on Earth.” This is one area where my dad and I strongly disagree. When I entered Del Rio into the GPS, the voice said, “Drive endlessly into the middle of nowhere.”
The ninety-mile stretch of Highway 277 between Sonora and Del Rio runs through the heart of the badlands, a barren region of rock strata overrun by sage brush and spattered with an occasional mesquite tree. Many conspiracy theorists swear the moon landings were filmed in the badlands.
Discoveries of natural gas reserves transformed the struggling cattle ranchers into wealthy oil and gas barons. The only scenery changes that break-up the monotonous drive are the natural gas pipeline compression stations every few miles. The landscape appears lifeless, but the area teems with wildlife.
However, nighttime driving through the badlands is another story. There is a reason why “Watch for Deer” warning signs are prominent. A favorite nightly pastime for deer is playing chicken with vehicles. Skid marks leading to a mangled Bambi on the shoulder indicate the car won, but probably needed towing to the body shop.
Other warning signs are posted along the highway fences, but these are not your typical “Highway Hazard” warnings. Ranchers hang coyote carcasses on the fences. Evidently, enmity existed between the ranchers and the coyote community, even before the coyotes labeled the ranchers as coyotephobics.
Did Wylie coyote stop chasing the roadrunner, or pursuing Mary’s little lamb, or stalking Elsie’s little calf when he saw cousin Fred or Aunt Ruby strung-up on the rancher’s fence? I doubt it.
By nature, coyotes are scavengers. Fence or no fence, carcass or no carcass, they roam the ranchlands as they see fit, looking for whatever happy-meal they may stumble upon.
In our part of the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex, coyotes wander into our neighborhood at night to get a drink from the fountain in our front yard. The city coyotes are easy to spot: they’re drinking Starbucks and howling on their iPhones. As a deterrent, I posted a warning sign: “Domestic Animals Only.” It proved useless.
But the carcass-hanging warning gave me an idea as how to solve a long-standing problem with my two dachshunds, Daisy and Skipper. I hung a package of Oscar Meyer wieners on the backyard fence next to a sign. WARNING: DO NOT DIG IN THE FLOWER BED!
They ate the hot dogs.
By their dachshund nature, Daisy and Skipper will never cease digging an extension to the Panama Canal in our flower beds.
Left to our own selfish nature, like my two pooches, we continually dig ourselves deeper into a pit in our life’s journey. Most folks will admit that our nature—sometimes subtle, other times obvious—demands us to be number one since the world revolves around us.
Before I became a Christ-follower, that was my nature. Clearly, don’t we all have that nature?
Before understanding and accepting God’s grace, like many, I viewed the Bible, as a book of restrictions from the pleasures of life, filled with dire warnings of “Don’t do that!” You break a rule, bring burn-ointment for your stay in Dante’s Inferno. I thought of the Bible as antiquated. It was fine for people a few thousand years ago, but mankind has progressed. These restrictions no longer apply. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and we’re free to live as we wish, without “thou shalt not” restraints from a non-existent entity.
With this point of view, however, one thing must be denied: man’s nature, or as some call it—the flesh. Left to our own sinful nature, mankind is a mess. Humankind is still selfish, greedy, lustful, morally unfaithful, impure, constantly angry, jealous, and more.
Satan craftily gift-wraps the lie of how satisfying life can be when we fulfill the desires of our flesh. His catchphrase is since you’re the captain of your life, ignore those out-of-date biblical warning signs. The Bible’s book of God’s wisdom—Proverbs? Meh! The Bible itself? Naw!
Because we ignore these God-ordained truths, we determine what is right and wrong. Let’s be honest: is there real freedom in being ruled by our fallen nature? Our fallen nature leaves a void. We may look successful by the world’s standards, but often we don’t even like ourselves. Inside, we know there must be more.
When folks join God’s family as a Christ-follower, the Bible becomes alive. Far from being a book of restrictions, this book tells the most incredible love story. The Bible details God’s relationship with man and his deep desire to redeem us back to him. God’s word isn’t “Don’t do that,” but God lovingly says, “Look what I’ve done for you!” God wants us to come to him just like we are Through our belief in his Son Jesus and the work he did on the cross, God crushed our sinful nature and gave us his divine nature.
He gives eternal life. And he gives us peace. Peace with ourselves. Peace with him.
Lord God, it’s my prayer that we surrender our self-centered sinful nature to you and accept your divine nature as we become your children. May we allow your nature to rule our lives, and by the Holy Spirit’s power, put down our old nature when it tries to regain control of our lives.
Stay close to Jesus
Jimmy
P.S. I wasn’t surprised when Daisy and Skipper ignored the no digging sign. They ignored the “Hard Hat Required in Digging Area” sign too.
Jimmy Eskew ©2016
THANKFUL 
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