Christian life is not as much about following a checklist, as it is about keeping in step with the Holy Spirit, who leads us according to the Father’s will. Of course it is critical to obey the clear teachings of Jesus, but I believe that kind of obedience is the result of being filled with the Holy Spirit and a heart that is bent on pleasing the God we love. It’s is not enough to simply “follow the rules” Jesus gave us. This is only the beginning. True obedience to Jesus means to obey all that He commanded and to be lead by the Holy Spirit.
To be led by the Holy Spirit we have to surrender our plans, year by year, month by month, day by day, and even moment by moment. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 14:25: “…whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” A living man with plans, and desires, and aspirations, even vain pursuits, cannot follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in a different direction. So the man must die, and all of his plans with him, then he is free to truly live, and follow the Holy Spirit.
The piercing question for us to ponder is have we surrendered to Jesus? In order to surrender you must be willing to come to meet Him, and be more troubled over the emptiness of life without Him than you are over losing yourself. Although this may sound like a dreadful ordeal, and it is in a sense, it is actually the sweetest prospect of all. God is not unaware of our desires, aspirations, dreams hopes and goals, but He certainly isn’t constrained by them. His promise to us is that He has better things in store: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
