Galatians 5:16-17, 19-25 (NASB) 16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 19Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
To know God better we need basic information found in Scripture. But, at some point knowing God better means moving from information to revelation. Our mission is to know God better, to live increasingly by the Spirit. The Spirit is the gift of God’s presence given to us through Jesus Christ. And to walk by the Spirit is to allow the Spirit to influence the way we think and feel and behave.
Living by the flesh is a life of determination without God, a life of trying hard to be happy and successful without God. To live increasingly by the Spirit is to have a basic trust and confidence in God. It is to leave the illusion of self and to live according to the reality of God.
Every morning that I wake up it is as if the whole world centers around me. The most important thing in life is what I want whether it is having a little peace and quiet before a busy day or the coffee is made. The crucial thing for my happiness is that I get done the things that I believe need to get done, believing that me and my concerns are the most important thing in the whole world. I have learned enough to keep the world rotating around me from bumping into the world rotating around you, usually. But at some point the way I view the world will cause me trouble and will cause the people around me trouble.
To walk by the Spirit we must die to this perspective of seeing ourselves at the center of life. The main thing is that we do something to remember and to re-focus our life around God each day. The outward behavior of a daily devotional may not bring an instant change of perspective, but it is a way that we set the stage of our soul so we are ready when God acts and enables us to know that God is in charge.
It might be more accurate to say our mission is to live consistently by the Spirit, for I am convinced that the Christian life is not “every day and in every way I am getting a little better.” Rather, the Christian life is a constant correction of our deviations. It is a continual coming back to a life centered around God rather than around self. Our mission is to live increasingly, consistently by the Spirit.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 25, 1998
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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