Children of Wrath

Breakaway is a nondenominational ministry that meets once a week on the campus of Texas A&M University for worship and a message from the executive director, Ben Stuart. The entire idea behind Breakaway is to unite students for fellowship, to teach the Gospel to college kids, and to introduce them to the person of Jesus Christ. It's a ministry dear to my heart, and even though I no longer live in College Station and am unable to attend the weekly gathering, I still listen to the ministry podcasts every now and then. Tonight I listened to a recent sermon from about two weeks ago, and it unexpectedly moved me to tears.

I don't say unexpectedly because the sermons are normally below-par or anything of the sort. On the contrary, the entire ministry is spirit-led, Ben Stuart is an incredibly gifted speaker, and the messages as well as worship experiences are always captivating and Gospel-centered. I love Breakaway, and I miss it dearly.

The message hit me unexpectedly because I didn't realize how badly I needed to hear it: that I am a child of wrath.

It's a message I've heard in the past, one that has gripped me to the core in the past, but it's one that I often need reminders of.

If you think you might need this reminder as well, check it:' From Death to Life' (listen to it here.)

It's far too easy to read all of the stuff in the Bible and forget the gloriousness of it all, forget how much I need biblical truth like a starving person needs food.

It's the easiest rut to fall into, complacency, in which I go through the motions of church or bible study and hardly pause to realize my motivation behind it all.

(Which, by the way, we don't merely 'go' to church. We are the Church).

Even when I'm excited about the Gospel, how easy is it to get wrapped up in the acts themselves? I often forget that goodness is not of me, that any good work is not of me but rather it is the spirit of God working through me to produce good fruit. Understanding this chases away pride as well as legalism.

Lastly, I forget that Christ brings me to life, and I forget that this is how to have joy. When I abide in His side, when I realize that He is the vine and I am merely a branch dependent on Him then my joy is complete, because in all of these realizations is this truth: I need Jesus.

We are all sick inside, but the difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is that the Christian knows the Great Healer.

And He delights to give life.

On my own I am fearful, depressed, chaotic, impatient, harsh, angry, unfaithful, rough around the edges, and out of control, because guess what? All of us are. We are all children of wrath.

We don't need medicine.

We need a freaking miracle, and the good news is that He has come.

In Christ, we are made alive, and by His Spirit we are made children of light.

'But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control'.
-Galatians 5:22-23