The Flesh vs. the Spirit: A Call Back to True Transformation

Archived Reflections from the Heart of God.

God sees through the flesh and into the soul. He is not as concerned with our external image as He is with our internal growth and walk with Him.

If we obey and grow in God by the power of His Spirit, the external will naturally follow. But without a heart transformed — there can be no true transformation of life. All lasting change begins in the innermost being, blooming from the overgrowth of the Spirit. It is this inner life that bears visible fruit — both in the flesh and in the Spirit.

But how often do we strive to perfect the flesh out of duty, or out of fear, or to meet others’ expectations? We polish the visible while ignoring the invisible. And in doing so, we never grow beyond what is seen. Our spiritual walk — the hidden root system of the soul — remains stunted.

How many of us have tried to conform the physical, while neglecting the spiritual? But what does the flesh birth, apart from the Spirit of God? Does not the flesh breed only death and condemnation when left to itself?

If the flesh is perishing, why do we labor so fiercely to shape it — while neglecting to yield to the work of the Spirit?

I tell you the truth: what we attempt to change on our own will never reach the heart. Change comes only from the Author of Life. It begins in the Spirit. And when the Spirit moves, it transforms our walk with God first — then our bodies, our habits, and our lives follow.

But today, much of the Church has lost this truth. We strain after outward godliness, yet deny the very power that makes it real.

When we look at a brother or sister — what do we see? Do we judge their clothing, their appearance, their posture? Or do we look with eyes opened by the Spirit to perceive the way they live, the fruit of their soul?

Relationship must come before reformation.

Without relationship, there is only condemnation. And without love, there is no relationship.

Love is not sentiment. Love is not tolerance. Love is Jesus Christ. Love is the power to see beyond the surface, to speak truth that heals, and to restore — not out of pride, but out of compassion.

If we could love as Jesus loves us — fully, truly, deeply — our actions would not condemn, but restore. We would not seek what feels righteous to us, but what brings about true righteousness in Christ.

To love as Jesus loves is to deny what our eyes see and what our ears hear. It is to rely on God to reveal… to trust the Spirit to heal… and to believe the Father still restores the broken.

Because in truth, we can accomplish nothing of lasting worth apart from the love of the Father

— From the Archived Journals of the Beloved

Archived Reflections on the Heart of God

A quiet offering from the life and writings of Eiri Waters.

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