If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25 NASB)
Paul simplifies life with Jesus. Walk by the Spirit! This appears to be his main idea for a young community that got quickly sidetracked into legalism. I find it intriguing that the corrective points to an active attentiveness to the Spirit. Paul assumes God has a discernible presence with everyone he is writing, and he assumes his audience agrees. Paul expects God to be involved in each of their lives, so he calls them back to relationship, not rules, to interaction, not performance. Putting the Galatians back on the right track with God, means paying attention, listening and responding to the Spirit’s presence. Religion is out; relationship is in.
For Paul, this was serious business. He’d lived the legalistic life, and he knew that was a dead end. His own vivid life with Christ flowed from interaction with the Spirit, and he well knew that cultivating that relationship held the promise for keeping in step with God’s desires and our flourishing. Conversation and prayer play a critical role. Paul even elucidated with great precision the markers of Spirit influence verses the flesh. Noticing those things meant attending to the One who walks with us, recognizing the Spirit actually leads. Today and in real time. The conversation that ensues is not episodic or haphazard, but ongoing and regular with overtures of grace, kindness, gentleness and love because these express the character of the Spirit, which He desires to make ours.
For Reflection:
“But I’m in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord GOD my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!” (Psalms 73:28 MESSAGE)
- When you review this past week, do you notice where the Spirit spoke to you or prompted you?
- What do you think about the Spirit having ongoing interaction with you? Where are you in your awareness of His activity in your life?
