Following the Lead of the Holy Spirit

Last time I wrote about how our relationship with Jesus Christ is not like a list of chores, but more like dancing with him in a relationship that teaches us the facets of love, both individually and as a church. The Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, whom we've been given by the Father (1 Cor. 2:16, John 14:16-21) invites
us and draws us into that relationship of love and faith, leading us further, not just into more 'truth' but into the ways and the motivations of Christ himself. We can certainly trust that the Spirit will do his job well, so when it doesn't seem to be working, it's probably because we're not following well. Let's look at how we can follow more closely.

In ballroom dancing, the leading partner steers and prompts the following partner in the steps they've both learned. He leads not by bellowing or shoving, but by very gentle, almost imperceptible touches and pressures (if an observer can see those prompts, it's too much!). The job of the following partner is to have learned the steps, then to be very alert in the present moment of the dance to those careful, gentle signals from her partner. The dance breaks down if that's not happening, with sometimes hilarious results!

In this analogy, then, our moment-by-moment response to God is to stay alert to the inner promptings, the small twinges to our consciences, the barely-perceptible nudges (and sometimes the more dramatic messages) of the Spirit. Paul tells us in Galatians 5 that we have been called to freedom in Christ, a freedom to love and serve. He says "love your neighbor as yourself" in v. 14, "walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the flesh" in v. 16.  Listing the evil fruit of the fleshly desires in v. 19-21, he then shows us the succulent, life-giving fruit of the Spirit in v. 22-23. Those fruits are created in us as we "keep in step with the Spirit" as he tells us to do in v. 25. Wow, think of that -- as we pay attention to the Spirit's leading, the fruit of love, joy, peace, etc. will be created in us. Not by our own effort, but by paying attention and following the lead of the Spirit.

All of us want more of that fruit in our lives. So, all of us need to learn better how to follow. We can do that by soaking ourselves in the word of God, stopping to listen to him in every possible way -- the many different spiritual tools Christians use for this are very helpful -- and humbly following the promptings we're given. That may mean laying aside our human pride of thinking we know the right thing, or protecting ourselves from further hurt as so many of us have suffered -- trusting God's loving leadership, and just following.

Do you hear the music? Can you feel the Spirit's touch? Are you following?