June 2000

This Word of Life is at the heart of the hymn Paul sings to the beauty of Christian life, to its newness and freedom, fruit of baptism and of faith in Jesus which engraft us fully into him, and through him, into the dynamism of the trinitarian life. By becoming one person with Christ, we share in his Spirit and in all his fruits, the first of which is becoming children of God.
Even though Paul speaks of “adoption”, (cf. Rm. 8:15; Gal. 4:5), he does so only to distinguish it from the status of natural son which applies solely to the only Son of God.
Ours is not a purely juridical relationship with the Father as would be that of adopted children, but something substantial which changes our very nature, as in a new birth. This is so because all our life is animated by a new principle, by a new spirit which is the very Spirit of God.
And we would never stop rejoicing, with Paul, for the miracle of death and resurrection which the grace of baptism brings about in us.

«Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.»

This Word speaks of something that has to do with our life as Christians, into which the Spirit of Jesus introduces a dynamism, a tension which Paul condenses in the contrast between flesh and spirit. By the word flesh, he intends the whole person (body and soul) with all our inherent fragility and selfishness which are in constant opposition to the law of love; indeed, to Love itself which was poured into our hearts (cf. Rm. 5:5).
In fact, those who are led by the Spirit must “compete well for the faith” (1 Tim. 6:12) in order to curb all the inclinations to evil and to live in accordance with the faith professed in baptism.
But how?
We know that together with this action that the Holy Spirit wants to bring about in us, goes our response. In writing these words, St. Paul had in mind, above all, a certain duty that we have as Christians, that of denying ourselves, winning the battle against selfishness in all its many and varied forms.

It is this dying to ourselves that produces life, so that every self-denial, every renunciation, every no to our selfishness is the source of new light, peace, joy, love, inner freedom; it's the way to the Spirit.
Giving more freedom to the Holy Spirit, present in our hearts, will enable him to bestow upon us a greater abundance of his gifts and to lead us along the journey of life.

«Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.»

How can we live this Word of Life?
Above all we have to become increasingly aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. In the depths of our being is an immense treasure but we are not as conscious of it as we could be. We possess an extraordinary wealth but, for the most part, it lies unused.
Thus, in order to hear and follow his voice within us more readily, we have to say no to everything that is against the will of God and say yes to everything that is his will: no to temptation, with a clear-cut refusal of its suggestions; yes to the tasks that God has entrusted to us; yes to loving every neighbor we meet; yes to the trials and difficulties we encounter…
If we do this the Holy Spirit will guide us, giving our Christian life that savor, that vigor, that zest, that brightness which naturally goes with it when it is authentic.
People around us will then realize that we are not only children of our own natural family, but sons and daughters of God.

Chiara Lubich