Lived in Them. Colossians 3:7. It has been a long time since I first came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. The privileges I had as a child kept me from many of the world's open sins and temptations. Every person's nature is sinful, as every honest person will admit. The disobedience inherent in human nature shows itself soon after a person's birth. It took me some time to realize that I sinned because I was a sinner, not that I was a sinner because I sinned.
We are naturally resistant to submitting to authority. When others impose restrictions, we immediately want to claim our independence and do what we want. The human will and nature desire what they perceive as freedom without boundaries. I was like that as a child, even though Christians were all around me. A time did come when I faced who I really was by nature, stopped in surrender, and turned to others for help. When that happened, and I admitted my helplessness, God had others there to tell me clearly about salvation and how it would come to me. My thoughts, opinions, and pride no longer mattered; when my repentance was genuine, I could see what the Savior did for me on the cross.
Now I see that the events that happened before God saved me were steps on the path to faith. When the period of self-centered reflection ended, God was there with redeeming grace, making clear what had been hidden and revealing my soul's inner sins. All these hidden evils were dealt with when Christ died and rose again. That was in the past; I now live in the present. I submit to the will of God and His purposes for me. There is no helpless bondage to the sin nature raging inside. Life is morally and spiritually different; it is my joy to walk with Him.