“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary to one another,
so that you do not do the things that you wish”
– Galatians 5:16-17 –
The desire of the flesh is one thing, and the desire of the Spirit is another. They are opposites. Paul said it is a struggle; he wanted to do one thing, but he did somethiing different than what he originally wanted (see Rom. 7:10-24).
The sheep is a clean animal, and if it falls in the mud, it feels uncomfortable, annoyed, and wants to get out. On the other hand, if the pig falls in the mud, nothing bothers it; it feels happy and wallows in the dirt. The pig is called “hog” and “swine,” which are all negative connotations often transferred to human behavior. Scientific reports claim that pigs do not have sweat glands that regulate body temperature, so they control their temperature by bathing in mud or water. Dogs use their tongues to cool themselves, so they pant. However, in the case of pigs, what they do is wallow in the mud to cool themselves.
Now let us think about the dove and the crow. When the rain of the flood stopped and the ark rested, Noah sent a raven, but it did not return. The raven found a lot of food, since it feeds on worms, caterpillars, spiders, toads, frogs, mice, rats, and carrion – that is, all kinds of dead animals.
Instead, when he sent the dove, a clean animal, it returned. However, when it was sent for the last time, it did not return, and so Noah knew that the dove had found a clean place to settle down and thet the waters had gone down.
Our carnal nature is like the pig and the raven who always look for dirty things. Our new, spiritual nature is like the sheep and the dove that want what is clean and holy. It is an ongoing struggle within the believer, and will be victorious; in short, it is the nature we feed best.
Beware of feeding the sinful nature that drags us
into the filth of this earth. Let us nourish the spiritual nature
that elevates us to cleanliness and holiness of heaven.
We are so involved in listening to the noise of the world that we do not have time to listen to the language of the Spirit, to pray, to study the Bible, and to serve others. “The things of eternity are made subordinate, the things of the world supreme. It is impossible for the seed of the world to bring forth fruit; for the live of the soul is given to nourish the thorns of wordliness” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 51).
Let us not feed ourselves from the filth of this world.
Let us walk in the Spirit, revived by His Word,
living like sheep and doves.
Be blessed, my dear brethren…