Walk in the Spirit: Focus on the Rewards    

                                            By: Art Javier

I.                The War

            There is a war going on every day in our lives, specifically taking place in our minds. It is a war of choice-between good and evil. And to a large extent, it is actually a war of the spirit against the flesh.              In our younger years in school, we learned that the age of 7 is the age of reason. When a child reaches this age, he or she should know what is good and bad. With proper upbringing and an exposure to Good Manners and Right Conduct, we are able to imbibe a strong character education to our kids which should very well be their passports in being very discrete to choosing between good and evil.

            But as a child approaches adulthood he or she realizes that life is not that simple.  When a person has to make a choice, life gets in the way. It is always expected that in every facet of decision making in life, one has to be politically correct in his choices. But does being politically correct consistently be the best choice?  As Christians, is the politically correct decision that we make always align with the divine?

            Corollary to this, the realism of the “war” goes on and on- that started when we were just separated a few years from the cradle and persists way above into adulthood and into our senior years and until our last breath in this world. If you have seen the movie, “The War Room,” you would know exactly what I am referring to.

          Outright, I can state bluntly that relying on ourselves, in our own values, in traditions, being politically correct or “what my mother said or father said,” or what have you- are all inferior bases or foundations when we are confronted to make a choice or decision. In such a situation of a crossfire and we need to choose between modesty and immodesty, between proper and improper, between morality and immorality or simply put between good and evil, we must at all times take the high road. A person, whether a child or an adult, should build his character and mould it into a Christ-like fashion that will not yield and can withstand the caprices and the desires of the flesh.

 II.             The Importance of Walking in the Spirit

            This is where the importance of “walking in the spirit” comes in. We quote from Romans 8:5-6, “For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires but those who live according to the spirit, have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace.”

            When a person continuously put priorities in the desires of the flesh, he or she is already dead, spiritually that is. That is why Jesus figuratively said in Matthew 8:22, “Follow me, and let the dead bury the dead.”

     The first question we pose here is, “How does walking in spirit each and every day manifest in our lives?”

     The answer is, it starts with a sincere repentance of our sins and accepting our Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior. When we are able to establish this personal relationship with the Lord, we become righteous not from our own but from the righteousness of God through our faith in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:8-9).

      As believers, we consecrate and surrender our body as a living sacrifice, a temple, a living breathing tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. Through this indwelling we are able to receive the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22).

    We align our values, our character, accomplishments, priorities, thoughts, motivations, directions, relationships and most of all our choices with all the fruit of the Holy Spirit, thereby consistently making our journey in life a truly remarkable walk in the spirit. We disassociate ourselves from the desires of the flesh that are sinful, selfish, greedy and foolish.   

III.           Focus on the Rewards

    The second question is: “What is the big deal in walking in the spirit?” The answer to this question is because of the promises of our Lord, because of the rewards that He will give us if we follow his commands and do His will. As in the law of physics, “for every action there is a reaction.” This is also true and consistent with the spiritual realm, “with every obedience comes blessing” (Deuteronomy 28) and “with every faith comes favor.”  In Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; He bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

    Consistent with these passages the Lord had promised us heavenly rewards if we have a mind set to walk in the spirit. These rewards are the five heavenly crowns referred in the various biblical passages, which are; (1) The Imperishable crown; (2) The crown of Rejoicing; (3) The crown of Righteousness; (4) The crown of Glory and lastly (5) the crown of Life.   

              1). The Imperishable Crown. In the field of sports athletes work very hard to compete with one another but in the end only one becomes the winner. There’s only one champion.  In the recent (2016) concluded NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers was the champion. They won that beautiful trophy and LeBron James took another for being the MVP in the Finals.  But if you ponder and think about it, the team had won for themselves a perishable crown because next year is another year and another champion can emerge and the year that passed will all soon be forgotten. The trophies won will soon gather dust and decay. The memories will soon fade away and will all be forgotten. All things on this earth are subject to decay and will perish. That is why Jesus is telling us not to store treasures here on earth “where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break and steal.” (Matthew 6:19).

                In contrast, when we walk in the spirit and build our treasures in heaven and keep a faithful endurance we are promised the reward of eternal life in heaven reserved for us- an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, an imperishable crown that will never fade away.

               It is written in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither had it entered in the hearts of men, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

               2). The Crown of Rejoicing. It is said in the book of revelation, this crown of rejoicing will be our reward where “God will wipe away every tear….there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for all these former things shall have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) 

              3). The Crown of Righteousness.  As we have mentioned earlier when we walk in the spirit we will inherit this reward through the righteousness of Christ Jesus, which will give us the right to spend eternity with God the Almighty. When we endure discouragements, sufferings, and persecutions, we know that we are assured of this reward which is our one way ticket, the only Way, the Truth and the Life, to spend eternity with our Lord Christ Jesus. (Philppians 3:20).

            This reward is not intended for the people who are self-righteous, meaning they have their own sense of righteousness based from their own works. Such an attitude breeds only arrogance and pride and never a longing or an earnest hope to be with our Lord Jesus Christ.

               4) The Crown of Glory. This word “glory” belongs to God because it refers to his very nature. We always say, “To God be the glory” because it describes the great splendor of God the Almighty. But when we walk in the spirit, we become believers who will be blessed to enter the kingdom of heaven and we assume the very likeness of Christ himself. Thus, we are gifted with the reward of glory. So we quote in 1 Peter 5:4, “And when Christ, the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

                5) The Crown of Life. When we walk in the spirit, and we come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we are promised an eternal life. Jesus provides us with what is required by our spiritual lives. He is the living water and the bread of life. (John 4:10 and 6:35).

              We join the many believers who love God in accepting these rewards of eternal life. We are His children and we demonstrate our true love for Him by keeping all his commands. We walk in the spirit, renew our minds, we do not conform to the world, we die to our old self and be born again in water and spirit and embrace this crown of life that awaits all of us.