I say that our purpose in life is pleasing God. I think of it as pleasing the Father. Only God is good. We can only please God if the Spirit is living in us. It’s the Spirit of Christ. It’s Christ’s life in us and He is pleasing to the Father!

You only belong to Christ if you have been joined to Him. If the Spirit is not in you, then you have no part in Christ.

It’s those who are led by the Spirit of God who are children of God.

We are children of God, not slaves. The spirit of slavery drags us back into fear. The Spirit of adoption has us crying out, “Father!”

What is the witness of the Spirit in you? Is it slavery to fear or freedom to run into your Father’s arms?

And what is the promise to a child? An inheritance. We are heirs of God alongside Christ. Paul qualifies that, though. “Provided we suffer with Him.”

When people share the gospel message, the Good News of Jesus, they (me included) don’t tend to include this part!

The Good News is that we exchange lives with Christ. He took on our body of sin and death and gives us His life. We identify with His life. He suffered and was crucified. We live a crucified life. We want our flesh crucified. We want it gone. We want life in the Spirit without flesh getting in the way.

We want to identify with Christ in His power and authority, but it also means identifying with His suffering.

Paul says we suffer with Christ that we may be glorified with Him. Do you want to be raised in glory? Then give yourself over to suffer with Christ, for the sake of righteousness.

We choose what is good and right and that brings suffering, through attacks from the enemy and through persecution from those within and outside of the church.

But as Paul says, it’s nothing compared to the glory to come.