MGOCSM Devotionals : Living By The Spirit -(Galatians 5:16-26)
Living By The Spirit
(Galatians 5:16-26)
St.Paul’s epistle to the Galatians speaks about how we can practice the gospel teachings in our daily lives. We need to “walk by the Spirit and … not gratify the desires of the flesh.” [Galatians 5:16]. By desires of the flesh, he means worldly pleasure and acts of sin we commit when we loose our self-control. When loosing self-control, you can potentially fall into a cycle of impurity and discord. And with discord comes hatred, jealousy, rage; God has given us free will, but we should not use it to hate others.
This passage sums up what Christian life is really about. We need to be living our lives by the way of the Holy Spirit or we “will not inherit the kingdom of God” [Galatians 5:21]. We should all aspire to be more like Christ in Spirit and to do that we need to embrace characteristics like self-control, faithfulness, goodness, and kindness.
In Romans 8:9-11, it says that our body is already subjected to death because of sin, but we will be saved due to the righteousness of the Spirit. God has given us a chance to be saved, but the problem is we need to fight the worldly temptations and live a good life to take that chance.
If we give in to worldly desires, we are giving into sin and temptation. 1 John 2:15-16 says “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world”. We cannot decide to give into worldly desires and feelings such as jealousy towards our brothers and still say we live in the Spirit and love God the Father. Although we may fall multiple times, God’s mercy and love enables us to get back up. It does not matter how many times one falls into the same act as long as they decide to get back up and continue the fight. But, how many times can you ask for forgiveness before it just becomes a routine for you and means nothing? Living your life by the Spirit will help you overcome worldly desires and live like Christ, which is what we as Christian want to ultimately do.
Reflection Questions:
1. Are we showing self-control when faced with temptations?
2. How often do you give in, thinking this will be “the last time”?