Juggling Eggs

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. If [since] we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Gal. 5:24

We all hear sermons on being crucified in Christ and living by the Spirit. In my Bible Study this morning the question was posed, how would you describe walking by the Spirit? My initial answer was to measure each thought and action against the fruit of the Spirit which is ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.’ In my current situation as caregiver I am remiss to know that I fall short in more than one of these character descriptions.

To begin with if we accept Christ as our personal Savior we have been crucified in Christ. Being crucified in Christ is the one time action of receiving Him as our Savior and recognizing, repenting and turning away from our life of sin. It is after that decision that our flesh becomes nailed to the cross. What Jesus did in reality on the cross we have the privilege to do spiritually. As man, His actual flesh and body was nailed and given up so that we may live spiritually and eternally. He did the work on the cross and we must do the work in our hearts to both live and walk by His Spirit. My Bible Commentary states, ‘When we repented, there was a sense in which we nailed the old, evil, corrupt nature to the cross with all its affections and lusts. We determined that we would no longer live to cater to our fallen nature, that it would no longer dominate it. Of course, this decision has to be renewed continually in our lives. We must constantly keep the flesh in the place of death.’ P. 1895

I look back at my initial spiritual assessment of walking by the Spirit and an analogy comes to mind. My walk is like juggling eggs whereby each morning I begin with practice through meditation and precision in prayer. Then I begin my walk through the day with my focus on the eggs. My focus is no longer my earthly walk rather the walk keeping my eyes on the eggs (fruit of the Spirit). Since I am not perfect in my juggling I can expect an egg or two to find its way to the floor but I keep moving and keep walking. The Holy Spirit promises to always renew, restore and rejuvenate so I will never be void of any of these traits. Each can be mine through the power and indwelling of the Spirit in our lives.

My description of walking in the Spirit is my ability through the Spirit to keep most of the eggs in the air most of the time and accept the work of the Spirit to replenish what I temporarily lost.