Submission to God or to Our Flesh

How do we know if we are submitting to God or to our human flesh? One way is in how we forgive others.

God's grace enables us to forgive, it is not a power we possess in our own flesh. In essence, we will never be able to muster up within our human flesh to forgive like God forgives. You see, when we submit to our human flesh, we aim for recompense and revenge; but if we are submitting to God, w...e aim for recompense and restoration.

Recompense and restitution are certainly important elements in a distressed marred relationship where hurt and pain have developed. But the forgiver that is working in the Grace of God uses these as a way to restore the relationship not continue to unravel and destroy it.

"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going because the darkness has blinded them." 1 John 2:9-11.