Spirit-Living

My Dustin (Twin B) had an unusually large number of opportunities to learn Scripture when he was little.  He sat at the kitchen table and wrote Ephesians 6:1 many many many times – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.”  And, for the record, the older Dustin remembers the verse very well!

Christianity isn’t about what followers of Christ do or don’t do.  Paul knew this because as a proclaimed “servant of Jesus Christ,” he wrote things such as “spirit of holiness” and “serve with my spirit.”  (Romans 1:1, 4, 9)  You see, Dustin eventually associated bad behavior with having to sit and write – tough for a little fella.  His behavior improved but it wasn’t necessarily from a changed “spirit.”  We all can exhibit “learned” behavior and impress lots of folks, but God is not fooled!  It’s the spirit of man Paul later writes about in Galatians 5: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance: against such there is no law.” (V.22-23)  Quite simply, these Spirit characteristics originate in a heart filled with The Spirit of Christ hence amazingly delightful behaviors!  No wonder Paul wrote about the “spirit of holiness” and “serve with my spirit.”  Christianity isn’t a sporting-event with the prize going to the best-behaved.  “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (V.25)  Spirit-walking is always a result of real Spirit-Living!