If the Spirit took the lead…

Throughout the New Testament we find that the Holy Spirit takes an active role in the story of the people of God. The Spirit actively works throughout the cosmos, the church, and persons to lead this world toward its eventual goal: new creation. Yet in my own experiences I often assign a passive role to God’s Spirit. Well, at least as it depends on our free will I suppose since nothing in Scripture suggests that God is ever inactive. Even so, more often than I would like to admit, I invite the Spirit to take the position of spectator as I go along with my everyday life.

Romans 8.14 states: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

The ultimate evidence that one is truly a child of God are those who live as though the Holy Spirit functions as the director of the drama we find ourselves in. As actors, we enjoy the privilege of using our uniqueness to portray the part in God’s redemptive story that we’ve been given to play. Our role involves improvisation, because unlike most theatrical performances, the writing of the script takes place with every single choice, interaction, thought, and action. In other words, as we move forward towards God’s eventual new creation, the path to getting there involves a communal effort to be people who are in fact led by the Spirit.

With this in mind, I started pondering what life would look like if the Spirit took the lead.

If the Spirit took the lead…

• The “every day” would seem less routine as our moments were interrupted by internal promptings to show the love of Jesus to people in regular situations.
• No one would feel like an outsider in our church communities.
• Miraculous signs and wonders would be “normal.”
• We would no longer feel the need to live in excess as the simplicity of a Spirit-filled life would compel us to live with less, so more can live.
• Life in various relational spheres would be full of grace as over-reactions and conflict would be minimized.
• Petty theological differences would be overshadowed by the tangible outflow of our mutual mission to see every crevice of creation transformed by Jesus.
• The margins would feel like the center.
• Peacemaking would be part of our friendships, marriages, work environments, politics, and confrontations.
• Evangelism would “just happen” because non-Christians would be intrigued with our counter-cultural way of life.

These are some initial thoughts. I’d love to hear from you. How would you end the following sentence: If the Spirit took the lead… ?