Life in the Spirit

Life is only fully lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's taken me years to even begin to understand this truth. John 10:10 eluded me - "I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly."

Not surprisingly, my efforts at self-sanctification have been a colossal failure. Only day by day, spending time in His presence, do I begin to bear the slightest resemblance of Christ. Only relying on Him to fill me, lead me, do I experience this fullness of life.

I was reminded of that this morning, as I spent time in prayer. The past few days, I have subjected those around me to my natural, sinful self. Frustrations and fears have plagued me. Doubts have taken up residence. Only after listening to the Lord was I reminded that time with Him has not been my priority these past days. No wonder the wheels were coming off and my joy had vacated.

I was also reminded of the conversation with our son the evening prior. He'd spent the day making impulsive decisions, and we were discussing it with him. I reminded him that life is only fully lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The ability to choose wisely comes by seeking the Lord.

But, like me, he can't tap into this gift if he's not spending time with the Lord. If our sweet son didn't know where to find food, didn't know how to feed himself, I would most certainly bring food to him. Like the friends of the paralytic, I need to bring him to Jesus, this Bread of life.

I was drawn to Deuteronomy 6, to the Lord's charge to not only remember these truths, but to teach them to my children. Am I obeying this command? He wants us to talk about Him, His Word, His Son all the time - when we wake up and lie down, when we sit and when we walk. Then, when the Lord brings us to the promised land, full of things we did not accumulate, vineyards we did not plant, we will not forget Him - the One who brought us out of slavery.

Oh, how I'm challenged to share my bits of knowledge of who God is.  To look together with my children into the pages of Scripture to see Him and then more clearly recognize His work in our lives.