St. Luke's United Methodist Church

Note: this is an article in a continuing series in which I share my own stories inspired by The Upper Room’s daily suggested Bible verse and devotional story. I present this series in the tradition of United Methodist Church Founder John Wesley’s “methodical” study of The Bible, and I encourage other St. Luke’s members to become a formal contributor to this site in order to share their own testimony similarly.

The Power of Life
Inspired by The Upper Room’s suggested reading for January 26, 2012
2 Corinthians 4:8-14

I suppose I’m a junk food junkie. I give in, almost daily, to unhealthy cravings for pizza, burgers, cookies, candy bars, sodas and the like.

As far as vices go, I tell myself, that’s a pretty tame one — especially if it’s my only one (and it is).

But it’s also a killer — especially since I’m diabetic, have tendencies toward high blood pressure and have long been at least 30 pounds overweight. The truth is that my vice, like all temptations, is not so innocent after all.

I say “suppose” in my first sentence today because, well,  I do know how to control my junk food habit. So it’s debatable whether I’m an addict or not.

I’ll not worry with semantics from here on out and just get to the main point: today’s reading brings to mind the method I generally use when I’m fighting my poisonous cravings. I simply remember that, as verse 12 says, death is at work in me, but life is in God.

When my mind focuses on the life that is in God, I can easily talk myself into making a nice, low-fat sandwich for lunch. But when I forget God and, instead, key only on my deadly cravings, only a pepperoni, double-cheese pizza will do.

Thanks be to God for the power he gives me (and all of us) to always choose life; may I become more inclined to use that power.