How many of you have spent some time in rebellion? Would you say you were running wild? Did you know that in Romans 11:17 the Bible calls us wild shoots?
Romans 11:17 NIV If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Webster defines “wild” as not subject to restraint or regulation, and uncontrolled. The Biblical definition is a little different. The Word says in Galatians 5:15-17 that the opposite of WILD is being Spirit-led and guided. And that when you are WILD you are satisfying your human nature.
I have spent more of my life than I would like to admit, being wild, or satisfying my human nature. To be honest, even though the battle is somewhat different now, even as a Christian it’s a daily battle. On a daily basis, my human nature is to be ugly to the guy that cut me off in traffic, to be hateful to the lady that was unnecessarily hateful to me, or even to help myself to that donut or 30 oz Coca-Cola that I DO NOT NEED (gluttony is a thing, y’all). Self and the world would have you behave one way, but your Spirit man would lead you in another direction. Human nature is self-serving, slothful, prideful, and gluttonous. It’s envious and all about “What is in it for me?” Part of the sanctification of the Christian is learning to listen to your Spirit man and not be led by your sinful human nature.
But the good news is that when we come to Christ, and we are eyeball deep in our wild human nature, He loves us anyway! And not just a LITTLE. He loves us BIG! The Word says He sent His son to die for us while we were yet sinners. He grafts us into the vine! He adopts us 
RIGHT THEN! When we confess and believe, we are HIS. Do not pass go, do not collect $200…BOOM! NOW!! He doesn’t wait until we get cleaned up. He doesn’t wait until we are at least 50% sanctified. He calls us His beloved, right then, on the spot, no waiting on aisle 5!
Maybe you were raised in a Christian home by wonderful loving parents. That’s great, but you can’t get to heaven on Mama and Daddy’s faith. You have to have your own. The Word says your righteousness is as filthy rags. You have to put aside your human nature and accept the Spirit of the Living God into your life, personally.
Maybe your parents were kind and loving, but they weren’t Christians. You grew up serving your human nature, trying to do a little good along the way and wondering what all the fuss was about. What’s wrong with doing what feels good and helps me get where I want to go?
Maybe you weren’t raised by loving Christian parents. Maybe, instead of being raised you were (as my Aunt Bonnie used to say) just flung up by the hair of the head. You were doing all you knew how to do to simply survive, much less worry about whether any of it was right or wrong.
We are ALL subject to our human nature. At least we are until we become Christians. Then we have the Spirit of the Living God within us, and we can choose to follow Him instead. We can CHOOSE to live in rebellion and chase the world’s definition of living – we can be wild. Or we can be sensitive to the Spirit within us. We can decide to be Spirit-led and Spirit-fed and become what God created us to become before the very foundations of the world. I don’t know about you, but for me, THAT sounds like WAY more of an adventure than simply being wild.
Galatians 5:16 ESV But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Romans 8:5 ESV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
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Good word!!