My daughters (three and four) are learning how to play together. One will often come to me and say with sincere tears, “She said that I couldn’t have such and such.” And my response is, “Well, she is not in charge of you, daddy and mommy are.” “And we decide what you can and cannot have.” Tears relax into relief as she realizes that her sister is not her lord.

In the Christian life, the flesh can often feel like lord. It feels so strong and overpowering that we cannot help but obey it. But then there’s Galatians 5:24 which reframes how we look at the flesh. Paul says, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Hence, when you believed upon Jesus Christ, the flesh and its desires were crucified (Thomas Schreiner). The lordship of the flesh was rendered powerless.

Therefore, Christians must reframe the flesh. It is not lord; rather, it is an animal that has been rendered powerless. It is a bee whose stinger fell off. It is a skunk whose smell was plugged up. It is a tiger that has been stripped of its claws and teeth. The flesh has been rendered powerless to rule the Christian. It has been dethroned as lord.

So when you hear the bee flaps its wings, the skunk rustle, or the tiger meow, reframe it. This is the flesh—a powerless, defeated, and crucified enemy that does not rule my life anymore. I do not have to do what it says. I do not have to live under its barking passions. For I belong to Jesus and have true power to live this life for Him by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16).

Commit Galatians 5:24 to memory this week. And commit its application to your heart for life.

Galatians 5:24 - “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (ESV)