Carrying the Load

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:14-15 NASB

Being led – You and I are walking the trail. Up ahead, perhaps just out of sight, is our guide. We know he’s there because we hear him singing, we see marks on the ground that he has just passed, we feel his presence. But we catch a glimpse of him when we round a bend and see his shape disappear at the next turn. Are we confident we are being led or do we sometimes wonder if this path has yet to be explored and we are struggling to find our own way in the forest? Now we need Paul’s verb ago.

Before we learn why Paul chose this umbrella verb, we need to rearrange our translation so that it matches the emphasis Paul reveals in the Greek text. Greek doesn’t have punctuation, so the word order provides the focus. The most important words are often placed first regardless of the meaning of the whole sentence. Our English translation unscrambles these words, but in the process we lose the point. Paul begins not with “For” but with “all who.” Literally it reads, “All who therefore by the Spirit of God are led.” Notice the verb comes quite a bit later in Paul’s thought. What matters most is that this action applies to everyone who follows. The heavenly guide doesn’t leave some of us behind, accompanying only those who are perfectly obedient. He brings the lost sheep too. He brings those who have wandered off, who were distracted by the scenery, who thought they knew a shortcut. He guides them all. If you ever felt abandoned, alone, responsible for your own purification, think again! Before Paul even gets to the actions of the Master, he reminds us that the Master watches over all of us.

And just in case you were wondering how it is possible for our guide to look after every one of us, Paul informs us that this is no mere mortal leading the way. This is the Spirit of God! Do you think God ever gets lost? Can you imagine that He doesn’t have the power to get us all to the destination? Is there any possibility that He won’t guard His own? Not a chance! Just because we don’t see Him at this moment makes absolutely no difference to His commitment. He has promised. That is more than enough.

Now the verb. Ago, the Greek verb that can mean “to bring, to carry, to go away, to guide, to spend time.” And, of course, “to lead.” Did you notice all the other nuances captured in this verb? Every one of them speaks of the actions of the Spirit. Every one of them builds our confidence that we simply will not be abandoned—ever! In fact, when we see Paul’s verb we realize that most of the time we are being carried even though we weren’t aware of it. Being led by God is the same as being lifted up by Him, transported through the wasteland on the pathway to righteousness. Praise YHVH! I don’t know about you, but I know I could never do it on my own.

Topical Index: led, ago, carry, guide, Romans 8:14-15