The War Within

For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' Mark 7:21-23

Choices of the Heart. This was a talk I heard when I was in college during a retreat. The speaker told us about the choices God made to express His love for us. How God came to choosing of not letting us go. The Father made the loving decision to allow His beloved Son to suffer and die for His people. And in that presentation, it was also emphasized that we have to make a choice in our hearts, to love God back or not. I was stunned by the simple yet powerful insight that it all starts with the heart. It all begins within. To love God or to shun Him, it all boils down in the heart.

Up to this day, Jesus is clear on this. The war is within. The battle is fought in our hearts. Our hearts are an arena of contrasting directions. Within us is a place where gladiators clashed. Second after second, we are exposed to opposing powers within us. Each minute, inside us, we are to choose whether to be a disciple of God or not. Every hour, we have the opportunity starting from within us to show our loyalty or disloyalty to Jesus.

Which is why, we need to examine our hearts before Him. We ought to vacuum our inside from unclean emotions and spirits. We have to map around our hearts to make sure we are leaving no space for any evil force. When you commit sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly, you can not fault somebody else. For the war is within.