Here I Go Again...

Here I Go Again…

And here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
And I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wastin’ no more time.
But here I go again.Whitesnake -1987

You may be thinking to yourself, “That sure is a weird way to start 2010.” I am a product of the 80’s. I used to really love all the music of that time, the good and the ugly. In fact, I get so excited when the infomercial comes on the television advertising the music of that era. Malia just wants to leave the room because I know all the songs, and it drives her crazy. Anyway, the lyrics above were on my mind the other day and I couldn’t get rid of them. Not a great song to have stuck in there, but, none the less, it was stuck. I began thinking about it as it refers to the Christian walk. I very quickly came to the realization that this song is the opposite of the way a Christian should think. What is the road that we should be on? Are we on this walk alone? Is the Christian walk wasting my time? How different should the Christian walk be? What can we do to make a difference in our walk?
It was very interesting to see the Holy Spirit work. This past week as I was thinking about the Whitesnake song, I was also thinking about Colossians 3:12-14. Then as I came to church this past Sunday, the Pastor was using that exact verse in his sermon. It must be a God thing! Paul is very clear in Colossians 3 defining for us the road that we should follow. Paul starts out in chapter 3 telling us that our focus on life should be “on things above” (v. 1). This road is not the road that we have known all of our life. In fact, when we are born, we are headed down the wrong road. Then, once we have accepted Christ, our direction is changed and turned away from all the things of the flesh toward the things of the Spirit. This walk is not easy nor is it natural and it certainly is not a waste of time. This walk brings joy that, as humans, we can’t imagine. In verse 12, Paul reminds us that we are not on this road alone. We are “God’s chosen people.” We are on this Christian road with many others. We have a huge family from which to draw support and encouragement. Our walk should be filled with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col. 3:12b). So often we clothe ourselves in things of the flesh. The flesh comes naturally, whereas, the Spirit comes supernaturally. We need to daily surrender to God’s will in our life and adorn the things of God.
This year as we work and minister with one another, may we have compassion for those we come in contact with displaying kindness to one another, humility that puts someone else’s needs above our own, gentleness even in the tough times, and patience which only God can give.

Here I go again…Clothing myself with the Spirit.
Aaron Hodges