Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
This verse in Galatians is one of my favorites, but let’s consider more verses from the passage as well, starting with verse 22 and ending with verse 26.
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, then let us be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.”
Whoa! There is a lot there to unpack, beginning with the qualities that should identify Christians, and, as human beings, we know those qualities are not easy to maintain. I can be filled with love, joy, and peace, but patience. . .have you ever been caught behind a rolling roadblock that extends miles ahead and behind you? My patience flies out the window after 15 minutes of creeping along. I can be kind, generous, faithful and gentle, but lose all self-control when something happens that provokes my temper, or, even worse, I am staring at a chocolate cake and know I should not indulge. In these situations, we cannot manage things on our own. We must rely on the Spirit to keep us from thinking and behaving in ways we know are not pleasing to God. “If we live by the Spirit, then let us be guided by the Spirit.” The closing verse about not becoming conceited, competing against one another, or envying one another tells us thoughts and actions that lead us away from the Spirit, not closer to Jesus.
For context, Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians when Jews and Gentiles were arguing about what a follower of Christ should be and do. Many Jews believed that Gentiles should conform to Jewish law before they could be genuine Christians. Christians believed all they really needed to do was follow the law of love, as preached by Jesus. Does this scenario about what makes a true Christian sound familiar, even over 20 centuries later?
This verse reminds me of the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets that were popular a few years ago. It seems different people have different opinions of what Jesus would do. Where does that leave us? Allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit requires us to surrender ourselves to Jesus, to give up those things that take our time and attention away from the path He has given us, to study scripture and pray earnestly for God’s guidance in our lives, and then to be willing to follow through when that guidance takes us in unexpected and sometimes difficult directions.
Only then can we truly experience the joy and peace that Jesus offers and live out his commandment: Love God completely and love others as ourselves.
Let us pray:
Lord, your expectations for those who wish to follow you are great. We cannot meet them with human strength alone. Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to both empower and guide us as we strive to become more like you. Amen.
This devotion was written and read by Pat Scruggs.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
