Keep in Step With the Spirit

A popular song, written in 1918, tells of the parents of a young soldier who was marching off to war. These parents asked their friends: "Did you see my little Jimmy marching with the soldiers up the avenue? They were all out of step but Jim." Of course, what those proud parents did not realize was that their son was actually the only one marching out of step.
 
This verse brings to mind marching in step, or "lockstep," a way of marching with each person as close as possible to the one in front. Walking in the Spirit is to be "as close as possible to the One in front." This requires walking at the Holy Spirit’s pace, not ours.
 
When a decision needs to be made, are we "in step" with the opinions of others, or do we "walk in the Spirit"? We often do not want to be seen as odd or different, and it is much easier to go along with others, to keep in step with our friends and relatives. But if we do that, it will not be long until we will find God’s Spirit is way ahead of us, and we no longer have that close relationship with Him we once had.
 
To keep in step with the Holy Spirit will mean we are "out of step" with the world. They might view us as "little Jimmy," completely out of touch and out of step, but what are we out of step with? The world’s values, opinions, expectations? Those change continually and are impossible to be "in step" with. How much better to walk in step with God’s Spirit!