The Spirit Isn’t a Prize for the Polished

Gary L Ellis
Jun 10
4 min read

Updated: Jun 20

God doesn’t wait for you to behave before He breathes life into you.

Let’s get something straight right out the gate: Being truly alive — fully, deeply, soul-thumpingly alive — isn’t some prize we get handed for coloring inside the lines.

It’s not a gold star God slips us when we finally behave, pray more than we cuss, or go three weeks without rolling our eyes at church folk.

No, being truly alive is something far wilder. Far deeper. It’s not something earned. It’s something revealed.

It’s what happens when the Spirit of God starts stirring the dust and breath of our everyday moments into something sacred. Something electric. Something real.

This isn’t the kind of life you can fake with a forced smile or spiritual performance. This is the kind of life that seeps out of your pores, even when you’re tired, even when you’re flawed, even when you’re unsure.

It’s the life that says, “God is here. And somehow, God is showing up in me, whether I feel holy or not.”

Is Aliveness a Prize for the Holy?

Growing up, I thought being “alive in the Spirit” was for the spiritually elite — the ones who woke up at 5 a.m. to pray, never doubted a single verse, and always knew the right Christian radio station to play.

If I could just get my act together, maybe I could be one of them. Maybe I could unlock the aliveness I saw in others. Maybe God would notice and reward me with more joy, more peace, more of Himself.

But let me tell you what I’ve learned: That’s not how love works. That’s not how God works.

“God is not an idea to be agreed with but a presence to be experienced.” — Richard Rohr

God isn’t dangling aliveness over our heads like a carrot on a stick, waiting to see if we’ll jump high enough. Instead, He’s pouring Himself out — right here, right now — through cracked voices, shaky faith, and even the middle-of-the-night ugly cries.

To be alive in the Spirit isn’t a bonus round. It’s the main thing. It’s not something God gives us after we prove ourselves. It’s something that proves God is already at work in us.

What If Aliveness Isn’t About Perfection?

Let’s be honest. If aliveness were a prize for good behavior, most of us would’ve been disqualified years ago. I know I would have.

I’ve questioned God’s timing. I’ve wanted to disappear instead of pray. I’ve doubted myself more times than I can count.

But you know what? It was in those moments — not in my most put-together ones — that I caught a glimpse of something holy rising up inside me.

“The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” — St. Irenaeus

God’s glory isn’t seen in our spotless record. It’s seen in our aliveness. In our risk of being vulnerable. In our choice to keep showing up when the world says, “Why bother?” In our laughter that breaks through grief, in our compassion that surprises even us, in the tears we shed when we’re moved by beauty or heartbreak.

Being alive is not the end result of a spiritual report card. It’s the sign that God’s fingerprints are all over us.

What Does This Aliveness Look Like?

It looks like quiet courage.

Like forgiveness that doesn’t make sense.
Like believing again after the last disappointment almost broke you.
It’s the mom who keeps praying even when her kid won’t answer her texts.
It’s the man who finally tells the truth, even though it costs him.
It’s the teenager who stops pretending to be someone else and risks being real.
It’s the doubter who says, “God, if You’re real, come find me,” and feels something stir inside.

That’s not earned behavior. That’s God breaking through the cracks. That’s aliveness. Holy aliveness.

Can We Choose to Be Alive?

We can’t manufacture it.We can’t control it.But we can say yes to it.

We can lean into the ordinary and expect the sacred.
We can show up open-handed instead of clenched-fisted.
We can trade perfection for presence.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” — Galatians 2:20

Being truly alive is not about us muscling our way to holiness. It’s about letting Christ live through us — even in the mess, even in the mystery. The more I let go of trying to be “good enough,” the more I see God doing something good in me. It’s not flashy. It’s not loud. But it’s real. And it’s alive.