The Gift

Have you ever thought it would be easier to believe in Jesus or follow Him if you had been with him while he was here on earth?  I’ve often envied the disciples and those who spent time with him.  However, as I’ve been meditating in the gospel of John recently, I’m reminded that Jesus doesn’t agree with me on this.  He actually said it is better for us that He was going away because of a gift He would send us.  The gift of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7).  In John 14-16 Jesus  gives several reason why this will be better. The Spirit will guide us into all Truth.  He will be our Advocate, Comforter, Counselor, Helper and Intercessor. The Holy Spirit won’t just be with us, He will be in us. 24/7.  When Jesus was here he was limited to touching those within the region where he lived, the Spirit however, will minister to believers on every corner of the globe----simultaneously!

Another thing Jesus said about this gift of the Spirit is that in spite of His activity, the world will not recognize Him because they aren’t looking for him. In a fresh way this Christmas I am thanking Jesus not just for coming to earth, but for sending us the person of the Holy Spirit when He left.  As a response, I want one of my gifts to Jesus to be that I more actively look and listen to what His Spirit is saying and doing; that I will quickly obey His promptings and follow His lead. Thank you Jesus for the gift of your Holy Spirit!

Need A Vacation?

One of my favourite Bible verses is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”.  One of my favourite authors is Philip Yancey. This week these two faves came together in a book Yancey wrote, entitled Prayer:  Does it Make Any Difference?  In it he talks about the fact that this little verse contains two powerful, life-giving commands.  The first is “Be still...”  He explains that the Latin imperative for “be still” is vacate.   As Simon Tugwell explains, “God invites us to take a holiday [vacation], to stop being God for a while, and let him be God”. Sounds inviting doesn’t it?  In North America we live in a time of affluence and ease and yet stillness and personal peace have maybe never been more absent. Our frenzied pace often means that even vacation time isn’t really marked by inner calm and refreshment.  My husband and I struggle with holiday time not being just a different to-do list.  I find this command to be still very inviting... but how do we stop the craziness?  I wonder if the second command isn’t the key to being able to carry out the first.

“Be still and know that I am God”. In North America one of our badges of honour is self-sufficiency.  We are conditioned to believe that your best and safest bet is to be in a position where you don’t need anyone else. Be master of your fate and maker of your destiny.  From the time we are toddlers “I can do it myself” is our mantra. While there is of course a necessary, healthy side to this there is also an insidious dark side which is reflective of what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve decided they would like to switch roles and move from dependent receivers to independent controllers.  Yancey says, “To let God be God, of course, means climbing down from my own executive chair of control.”  God is God.  He is in the heavens and He is in control.  Scripture is clear that when I choose to follow Christ, to be a Christian, I am choosing to reverse the decision that Adam and Eve made. I relinquish control back to God.  I enter a place of full-dependence. I let God be God and let Him run the universe and my life. It’s tough to do, but every time I get a taste of releasing control and just being a child of my Heavenly Father I want more.  What about you?  Time for a vacation?

Siblings

The other night my husband and I watched the CBC program, “The Passionate Eye”. I know that doesn’t sound very exciting but I found myself getting more and more engaged as they chronicled the story of JoEllen, a young woman who desperately wanted to find the anonymous donor who helped bring her into existence. As the story unfolded not only did she, through amazing circumstances,  find “Donor 150” (her biological father) and have the opportunity to meet him, but she also found 12 half-siblings! It was amazing to watch as these siblings met each other for the first time. The bond was incredible and the family resemblance unmistakable, the eyes, a hand gesture,  the way they fiddled with their hair and their artistic bent. As I watched my thoughts turned to the beautiful and sometimes surprising connection we share as children of God. I’m amazed when it happens with someone I met at church, in my own culture but it is even more surprising when it is in another country and you don’t speak the same language. Recently a friend shared with me that during his summer travels he met a complete stranger and very quickly found himself wondering whether that person was a believer, part of the family.  And sure enough --- he was. What is it? Why do we have this feeling, this sense? Firstly,  I think it is the Holy Spirit alive in each of us. Romans 8:16,17  “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children”.  I also think part of it is the family resemblance. Traits we know to be true of our Heavenly Father that we see in them. Hebrews 2:11 says “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sister.” What a gift to be part of this amazing family that is spread all over the globe with Christ as our big brother and God as our Father. Talk about a sense of belonging! And can you imagine the party in heaven when we meet ALL the siblings! 

Deliver Us From Amnesia

I have always been fascinated by stories in which the main character suffers from amnesia. We all know how it goes, because they can’t remember their past, they’ve lost their identity. They have no context for their existence. They are isolated and alone. I’m captivated by their intense search for clues that will give them any hint as to who they are. They are consumed by this quest. Maybe I’m so easily drawn into these stories because, if I’m honest, on some other level, I ask the same kinds of questions...  who am I? Why am I here? How does my short little life fit within the grander scheme of things?

God’s word the Bible has given me some answers and although I certainly don’t have it all figured out here’s two things I’m learning to stand on with greater certainty all the time.

Firstly, God’s Word reminds me that my primary identity is as a child of God. “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children, and we really are” I John 3:1. He created me, redeemed me and loves me all the time, even though I don’t deserve it. What a relief to know that it’s not what I do, how well I perform or what I achieve. This identity is a gift that I have received through Jesus. He promises He will never change how He feels towards me. Talk about security! He has also promised that He is always with me so I never need to fear being alone. Do I ever forget my identity? Many times, but as I continue to take God at His word, my bouts with “amnesia” are becoming less frequent. And it doesn’t end there….

Another way that God continues to help me be at ease with who I am is by helping me view my life as part of a bigger story. My story isn’t limited to the context of my parents, grandparents and known family tree. As a child of God I’m part of a much bigger story that includes all the men and women of faith who have gone before me, and all those who will come after me. Whenever I’m having an “amnesia” moment---feeling isolated in my journey with God---all that I need to do is to go to a part of the Bible like Hebrews 11 where I find a list of fellow participants in this great story. When you glance down the list some of these folks saw incredible miracles---like the Red Sea parting and the walls of Jericho falling---of course we’d all like to have a part like that in the story. Others however, saw nothing but hardship and suffering.  What God saw was their faith.   That gives me great comfort because again, its not performance and spectacular results that God is after, it’s faith. Day by day surrendering to Him, doing my best to be obedient and leaving the rest in Him hands. I’m a child of God and part of a great community of faith, each of us with a small but significant role in God’s great story. So let’s face each day with confidence in our identity…and on days we don’t…. God deliver us from amnesia!