The Holy Spirit is a big deal. I mean that wholeheartedly. If you asked my friend Jenny, she'd tell you "It's the coolest." Which is Jenny's way of saying that something is really a big deal. The Holy Spirit is a BIG DEAL. We should be excited about the Holy Spirit.
As I have grown up in my faith I have focused a lot on building a relationship with Jesus Christ, and through that relationship coming to know and build a relationship with God, the Father. I have sat through countless Sunday School classes, I can tell you what the Holy Trinity is and why it is an important part of my faith and an important part of who God is. However, something I've been learning more recently is what an important role God's Holy Spirit plays in my life.
The Holy Spirit is a gift. Jesus tells His disciples before He ascends, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" Acts 1:4-5. God is the ultimate gift giver. Think of a time when you wanted to be really intentional and really creative in giving someone you love a gift. You wanted them to know upon receipt of the gift how much of your heart had gone into it - not in a self-glorifying way, but a way that let them know how much you really love them. That is how God gave us the Holy Spirit - it is a personal gift to each and every one of His children.
What exactly was packaged in that gift? The Holy Spirit is God's Holy Spirit - it is the part of Him that He gave to dwell within and among us. That is breathtaking. God allowed part of Himself to be with us, to take a home in our hearts - He wants to be there. He can't be with us to teach us, to be a physical presence among us - but He gives us the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That is how He works in us. That is how He works in others.
What is the Holy Spirit - It's Christ in you. When others see Christ in you, when you see Christ in others, you are seeing the work of the Holy Spirit. We can speak words, but it is the Holy Spirit that shapes them and transforms them as they enter the ears and the hearts of others.
The Holy Spirit is love - God's love. I haven't used the transitive property since writing proofs in geometry as a sophomore in high school, but I'm going to give it a shot. 1 John 4:8 makes the bold and true proclamation, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." God is love. The Holy Spirit is a part of God - it is His spirit. The Holy Spirit is Love. The Bible describes God pouring out His Holy Spirit on us - He poured out His love on us. The Holy Spirit is another way of God bringing His love near to us.
The Holy Spirit is a BIG DEAL. And there's more...so much more!
~SP
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