Sunday Devotional: Led By the Spirit

So, in focusing on something beyond standards and convictions, I fear I possibly took a step back over that line into legalism (or Phariseeism, as I prefer to call it). It has bothered me all week that I wrote that line about “lingering over photos of attractive men online.”

It bothers me because there’s also the principle that it isn’t wrong to appreciate beauty. And because I’m a writer, with a Pinterest account, and sometimes I find pictures of people who remind me a lot of my characters. There’s a terribly thin line between looking for story inspiration and, well, going beyond. And that line may be different for each of us.

Here’s the problem: the human heart is drawn to legalism. We want the lines to be cleanly drawn, so we know exactly which side to step on, and which not to. And even when we say that we won’t define convictions for anyone else, we can catch ourselves saying, ­This is wrong, about something that might not be, or maybe not for all.

But it’s more complicated than that, and yet simpler. God wants us to be led of the Spirit, not by rules.

Always, always, our hearts twist back to the rules. The brazen serpent, once shaped as a symbol of temporary salvation for a wayward people, later became an idol. The Law itself, embroidered upon and propped up by the rules of men, because it wasn’t definitive enough on its own.

Rules give us something solid to gauge by. They’re safe, comforting. They let us know exactly where we stand.

Being led by the Spirit, however is an intangible. While it might sound appealing in theory, there’s no hard-and-fast measure to show us what it looks like, or to give us a sense of how well we’re doing. (Except by how we extend love and grace to others—but that still isn’t very measurable.)

Being led by the Spirit requires more faith, more surrender, more discipline, than merely following rules.

It requires us to lay down our pride, our grasping for control, our self-protection and insecurity.

So ... what’s the benefit?

Life. An unparalleled intimacy with the Creator of the universe, the Giver of that Spirit. The assurance that every step we take is ordered by Him, and the ability to choose the good rather than being enslaved to our darkest natures. The freedom that comes with the surrender of our impulses and passions, knowing that God can and will use even those.

And then, when we come too close to a line that God Himself has laid down, we’ll know to pull back before we cross it.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. ⁴ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5, NKJV)