Every part of life is spiritual. We simply can’t get away from it. We are created in the image of God and, fallen from grace as we are, we are still formed in the image of God, living here on earth.

Every element of our lives is an opportunity. An opportunity to give and receive grace. An opportunity to commune with God, the Father and creator of all. An opportunity to succeed. Or not.

I think that we often see this the other way around. We view life through the lenses of fallen experience, not holy opportunity. Whether individually or as a community, we tend to focus on the negatives. We focus on resisting temptation (a good thing) rather than moving towards God. We focus on becoming “less bad” rather than allowing God to be good in and through us.

It’s time that we reset this paradigm. We need to realize that every temptation, though real, is an opportunity for us to choose well. Every stress and difficulty is an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in us. Every time we are tempted not to love, we have the opportunity to choose to love.

When we do so, we are submitting to the will of God. We are being formed into the image of Jesus of Nazareth, growing into the high calling that is on our lives. Our God is amazing and does amazing things in and through us when we will let him.

So, here’s my encouragement to you. Set your hearts and minds on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy (Phillipians 4:8). Spend your time allowing God to make you into a person who exudes love, joy, peace, patience, self control, goodness, and humility (Galatians 5:22) – this is the work that the Holy Spirit does in us.

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