High Spirited
According to Paul, there are some real benefits to living by the Spirit.
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 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. - Galatians 5:16-24
At first glance, Paul seems to be telling us to avoid physical pleasures in life, and he surely does point many of them out. His warning is that we will not inherit the kingdom, so out of fear of loss of God's grace, we should heed his word.
But there is, I believe, a deeper message here.
The fruits of the Spirit that he talks about sound good, but they don't really captivate the imagination, do they?
As fruits, they are the harvest of living by the Spirit, not the experience.
Paul may have missed out on the true captivating motivation for wanting to live guided by the Spirit, and that is confidence and faith.
To let the Holy Spirit guide me is the greatest feeling I can imagine, taking away all fear of failure, all uncertainty of purpose, all hesitation.
It is not that I won't make mistakes, or that I won't stumble and fall. These things will happen whether I do the right thing or the wrong one. But aligning myself with the Spirit, and fully trusting in God, I know there will be a moment of clarity that comes with every dark cloud.
So, if inheriting the kingdom sounds like a ticket to heaven, then I think we are missing the true meaning. The kingdom is all around us, for us to claim, and when we do, when we let the Spirit open the door, everything in this life gets easier.
More to come...