Walking by the Spirit
As often as we have heard it said, we will ever need to be reminded of this simple truth: We will reap what we sow. It is unimaginable to think that we could plant corn and get tomatoes or plant potatoes and get carrots but somehow we find ourselves able to disassociate our confession of faith in God from the reality of our daily lives.
We need to begin by reminding ourselves that our belief in God and his gifts of forgiveness and grace are the result of God’s love for us but that we are under no obligation to receive them. We are not compelled to be Christians. The decision we make to profess faith in God - and particularly in what God has done through Jesus Christ – is a decision that is not made out of duress nor is it a decision that was made for us. We exercise our own free will when we accept that gift from God. And just as we exercise our free will to accept that gift, we also make a free choice to honour that gift by seeking to follow the commandments of God so as to order our lives according to the pattern revealed to us by God in Christ.
And while the love of God is given unconditionally – in other words, it does not depend on how good or righteous we are – there needs to be within us a desire to show how much we value that unconditional love. Paul urged the people of the church in Galatia to walk by the Spirit. He was encouraging them to be conscious of the presence of the Spirit of God and through that consciousness to seek to order their lives by actively listening to and being guided by the Spirit of God. It is true that Paul lists all the ways which the people are not to behave but he does not do this so that the people can judge those who do such things but rather that they might be conscious of making decisions in life that will lead them away from behaviours that cause division and harm, that show disrespect and devalue the humanity of others; by understanding the harm that such things can cause, the hope of Paul is that the people will be encouraged to seek for the fruit of the Spirit. In verse 22, we find the following: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Our conscious decision to be the people of this God needs to lead us to the conscious decision to seek for the fruit of the Spirit letting these signs of the Spirit guide our thoughts and our actions.
Is it natural for us to follow the Spirit of God? If it were, we would probably never need to be reminded; but we strive to assert ourselves in the world; we are prone to jealousy and envy; we can be the cause of dissension; we can be consumed with our own self-importance to the exclusion of all other opinions or ideas. And so it is that Paul specifically mentions that we are to be without self-conceit, we are not to provoke one another and we are not to be envious of one another.
We need to remember that it is easy to say words but harder to put them to action. We can say that we live by the Spirit when we say our prayers or confess our faith but the true test of that decision comes when our actions match our words. Remember that Jesus said it is not the ones who simply hear the words who are the people of God but those who hearing also put those words into action.
Do not forget that we gather in communities of faith not because we are perfect or because we seek to show others how virtuous we are. We gather in communities of faith because we share a love for God and a desire to be with others who are seeking to find and follow the way of God for their lives. As we order ourselves in our community life, some of us will find ourselves called to leadership in music, preaching, teaching and guidance. Others will find themselves serving in the area of hospitality, prayer, and counselling. Others still will find that their role is to be supportive of one who is struggling with a burden.
We learn that we have a responsibility to be an encouragement to one another and to enable each of us to walk our path through this life with dignity and respect. We need to hear one another, see one another and celebrate one another.
This is the house of God. We are in this house because we seek the love, grace and forgiveness of God. We are in this house because we have a burden we wish to share. We are in this house because this is where we are seeking peace and hope.
To close this message, I offer these words:
May God’s blessing surround us and love fill our hearts.
May Christ walk beside us and never depart.
May the Holy Spirit keep us faithful and strong to the end;
As the stars light our pathway may sweet blessings descend.
AMEN