We would like to share the conclusion of our three part series on the Aspects of Life. Previously, we highlighted Security and Health, and now we will conclude with the Spirit.  In the past, we mentioned the breakdown or precedence that each aspect of life is given. Here is an estimate of what that looks like.

The Spirit is undeniably neglected, and many times, people are dismayed by the lack of a Spirit-led life. Just in the same way that many desire to have better health, yet find not the time or effort to maintain it, so too is the Spiritual path. The path is narrow and difficult but also full of true joy and life. Often times this is forgotten - the joy of life in Him.  Unfortunately, many view a spiritually led life to only be a life meant for self-sacrifice, pain and suffering.  This mindset has led throngs of people into a self-righteous form of religion and a decidedly unhappy and unforgiving way of life.  This is not a Spirit-led life. The flip side of that coin is the modern-day church that incorporates all the cultural excesses to make faith in Christ more socially acceptable and more comfortable on a day-to-day basis.  This leads to less faith and more quasi-spiritual teachings that minimize Christ to sound more like self-help than the truth of the Word. This is also not a Spirit-led life.  The church today, in some ways, is really not that much different than it was from the early church. The Apostle Paul was in a constant struggle to set the church on a right path, but cultural habits and man's wants for his own type of religion caused many problems and was a thorn in the flesh for Paul to deal with most of the time.  The truth is--man is man, and he will inevitably make errors and chose the wrong path or create his own way.     

So what is a Spirit led life? Without diving too deep into so many scriptures, we want to simplify it and make it as clear as possible.  First, make the word of God a truth in your heart. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  Next, follow these two commandments in your everyday life, and you will do very well and achieve the spirit-led life.  Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  To give this scripture even more amplification, look at it like this: Be mindful of God and talk to Him and commune with Him and love Him with all that you are. Worship Him for who He is and what he did for you. Next, look at the world, not only through your eyes, but through the eyes of those around you (i.e. your neighbor). If a person is angry, hurting, downtrodden, pessimistic, happy or joyful, look at life through their eyes as if they were you. Pity and help those who suffer and be uplifted by those who shine their joy on you.  The basic principal of a Spirit-led life is to love.  Love.  The church must learn love and not be so high-minded that they have already advanced beyond such childish simplicities. Love is the fundamental key and core of all things.  Without it, you are a ship in the dark seas with no direction.  Love cannot be false or done involuntarily. It must be from the heart.  Additionally, true love doesn’t negate principles of truth to accept sin, but instead, convicts sin in a manner that is truthful and spiritually empowered.  Sometimes, exercising love isn’t easy, and difficult at times, but such is the narrow path.   

In our culture today, there is a progressive corrosion of love. The culture of the world teaches us to love only money and ourselves.  We give our days to toil at jobs we hate, to gather things we don't need, to provide a sense of security that we think will bring us love.  If I only had more things are the thoughts of the lost.  It is a lie that we tell ourselves, yet we keep on with the charade.  But there is a better way. True love is the element of God, and in His Son's sacrifice, we behold the perfection of it.  True love cannot be attained through works or bought through things, it is a free gift.  It is from The Father of Lights, and he has given it to all mankind.  You must only receive it. Then once you receive, be an ambassador of it in love.  It’s just that simple.   

This year, and like all the other years in the past, we set out for the remote and unreached.  Why? Because we love it! We love to share Jesus, and we love to behold new people's receiving the simple message of God's love.  This is our life, mission and joy.  There is no other place we’d rather be.