Any plan other than the living Jesus, the Guide who wants to live inside us, can easily be a distraction from being led by the Spirit. Before Jesus came into the world, God gave Moses plans for the tabernacle which also served as the plans for the physical temple. God also gave Moses plans for human behavior, known as the Law. Those plans were even written on human hearts as the conscience.

We humans have never been very good at following God’s plans. The Creator became a man to open the door so that you can know Him and follow Him.” “Christ in you,” means that instead of following God’s plans, we can follow and obey and be empowered and led by the inner Jesus. That is a glory that Paul calls “the surpassing glory” that is greater than the glory that was on Moses’ face when He received the law.

Glory was on Moses’ face. Glory resides inside of present-day Christ-followers who are “being changed from glory to glory.” The Bible calls us to self-examination (2 Corinthians 13:5). Check yourself for God’s glory. Is His glory shinning in your heart and continually changing you into His image? Is the risen Jesus living and operating inside of you as “the way” (the plan)? Or are you merely making and following your own plans?

Church too often treats the wounds of sin as if they’re not serious–as if a few religious words can make things all better. However, our human predicament is far worse than that. Without the presence and power of the inner Jesus (the Man who is the plan), we’ll all stay stuck in sin’s subtle traps.