"If people's thiking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace. When people's thinking is controlled by the sinful self, they are against God, because they refuse to obey God's law and really are not even able to obey God's law. Those people who are ruled by their sinful selves cannot please God." (NCV)
What is God saying?
People have two choices: to follow self and die, or to follow the Spirit and live. We can't chose to partially follow both, because following our sinful selves makes it impossible to obey and please God as this is only possible by completely following the Spirit.
What is God saying to us today?
We live in a society that offers an abundance of choices - from what type of food we want to eat to what school we want to attend to what we want to do for entertainment. In fact so many options have caused many of us to experience the rather new phenomenon of "analysis paralysis" - where we are so overwhelmed with choices that we don't make any. But here, God doesn't give us a lot of options. We only have two - Do we choose ourselves or Him? Do we choose death or life? It seems like a no-brainer. Who wants to choose death? Unfortunately almost everyone struggles to make the right choice, because much like an addict, our decision-making process has become warped by sin and we miss out on the abundant life and peace that God wants for us.
What is God inviting us to do?
Are you worried about what your life will be like after totally surrendering to God? God invites us to submit to His Spirit, because only then we will find the life and the peace that we are all searching for.