YOU RAN WELL...NOW WHAT?

"You ran well. who hindered you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7

Those words curdle my heart.

"You ran well."

You had a good go - what happened? Where did your walk go wrong? When did bitterness invade your heart? When did pride needle it's way through the humble barriers? When did hatred destroy the walls of love?

"You ran well."

Now what? Are you going to continue on with talking about the "good ole' days"? Seeing no hope for any kind of revival but just being content with what's already passed?

"I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh...but the fruit of the Spirit is love..." Galatians 5:16,22

Love is the source. Love is God. He asks us to love. His greatest commandment is love. THAT is the FRUIT, the byproduct of abiding in the Spirit who is God! When we abide in the Spirit, we have love in which we also have the fruits: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

"And those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:24

This life we're living is a gradual process.

There's no end-game here on earth. There's no level of success that we can reach in our walks with God. We will always be climbing. We will always be pushing on.

So walk in the Spirit.

Don't give up. Don't settle for less than God's best. His best isn't comprise. His best isn't sliding back from where you were. Your run is a race. You can't just stop in the middle and say you reached the end already. You have to move forward.

Instead of hearing "you ran well" at the end of the race, I long to hear:

"‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’" Matthew 25:21

So run on, my friends. There may be inclines, there may be hot temperatures, there may be pebbles in the road. BUT DO NOT STOP. Keep running. Knowing that the Spirit is walking with you. Knowing there is an end in sight and it's reward is far better than stopping before you get there.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8

- Kissy Black