Written by Marbella Parra, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Honduras
In my Christian life, I have gone through different stages. There have been times when I have felt that I was doing things for God, but I didn't really feel close to Him. More than once, I have wondered how I can diagnose and evaluate my spiritual life. Have you ever felt the same way or asked yourself the same question? What method can we use to evaluate our spiritual life and our relationship with God? In this blog article, we will analyze the teachings of the apostle Paul in Galatians 5 and Romans 8 to define what spirituality is and learn how to create our own thermometer to analyze our relationship with God.
When we talk about spirituality, we tend to confuse some aspects. Many times, we qualify as spiritual, someone who practices spiritual disciplines, that is, someone who prays, meditates on the Scriptures, and attends services, among other things. However, while spiritual disciplines lead us to spirituality, they are not the definitive sign that we are truly spiritual. As we read Romans 8 and Galatians 5, we note that the apostle Paul describes a spiritual person as one who is led by the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit (e.g. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control in Gal 5:22-23). In this sense, being spiritual is not so much about a set of activities we perform but about a state: a level of connection with God. At this level of relationship with God, the Holy Spirit greatly influences us, enabling us to have attitudes that reflect Christ's character and abandon carnal attitudes.
Unfortunately, many of us have reversed the formula. We believe that through great willpower we must reach a level of perfection that allows us to be worthy of God. However, the good news is that even though we are unworthy, through Jesus' sacrifice, we have the opportunity to be forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit. In the letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul states that we are adopted as children of God and receive the Spirit by which we can call Him "Daddy." What a powerful and consoling message! This means that if we want to develop the character of Christ, the only way to do so is to seek God with a humbled heart and entrust ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The formula is that the more we seek Him and humble ourselves before Him, the closer we are to God, and we are transformed and empowered by His Holy Spirit.
We can then say that a heart that is close to God is one that humbles itself before Him and rests in the grace received through Jesus. The result of this is a person who is in a process of sanctification through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to live in the image of Christ. With this in mind, our actions are a sign of our nearness or distance from God. If a person is close to God, he will reflect Him through the fruit of the Spirit, but also, a person who is far from Him will reflect Him through the fruit of the flesh. In short, my sinful actions are the symptoms of drifting away from God, and my good deeds are the symptoms of becoming close to Him.
From this, we can create a personal spiritual thermometer that helps us identify in ourselves how close or far we are from God. A thermometer needs a positive measurement scale, so for this part, we will use the fruit of the Holy Spirit as a reference. We also need a negative measurement scale for which we will use the fruit of the flesh. Our diagnostic process (which should be daily) involves evaluating our attitudes, thoughts, and words throughout the day and seeing in which direction they move. Are my actions, thoughts, and words a reflection of the fruit of the Holy Spirit? If the answer is no, this is a symptom that our heart is not close to God. At those times, let’s set aside time to seek His presence, repent, and ask for His guidance and the control of His Holy Spirit. If the answer is yes, let us give glory to God because we know that the good that is in us does not come from our effort, but from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so we must continue to seek Him daily to continue to be perfected in Him.
Would you be willing to use this spiritual thermometer every day? Do you think it would help you grow in your commitment to God?