“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
The Battle
Jesus names something worth taking seriously here, already in his heart, worth holding as this whole book’s own honest starting point, this struggle located first in the heart, not only in outward action, worth examining honestly rather than measuring purity only by what has, or has not, actually happened.
This is worth holding against however much you have measured your own faithfulness only by external boundaries kept, technically avoiding certain actions while genuinely, honestly allowing whatever led toward them free reign in your own heart and mind, unexamined and unaddressed.
Notice this raises the actual standard, not lowering it toward mere external compliance, but locating the real battle where it genuinely begins, worth holding as honest, sobering diagnosis this whole book will spend its remaining days actually, practically addressing.
Whatever has already, honestly happened in your own heart, even without outward action, name it today as directly as Jesus named it, not to produce despair, but because this honest naming is where genuine change, this whole book’s own actual aim, must actually begin.
Walk in the Spirit
- Name honestly whatever has already happened in your own heart, not only outward action.
- Notice whether you have measured purity only by external boundaries, missing this deeper standard.
- Bring this honest naming to God today, trusting it as the necessary beginning, not despair.
Prayer
Lord, you see what has already happened in my heart. Let me name this honestly today, trusting this as the necessary beginning of genuine, actual change. Amen.
Carry this today
This battle is located first in the heart, not measured only by outward action.