Dear Trekker,
For obvious reasons, a Hank Ketcham Dennis the Menace cartoon recently caught my attention. Dennis is riding a scooter wistfully alongside his Grandpa, seeking to walk sprightly with a cane. The caption: “Grandpa, when you got old, did it happen all at once?” My answer to Dennis would be (as I near a four-score age in a few days): “Good question, son. You know, I’m not sure. I guess your Grandpa is as old as he thinks, and today I think I’m fine.”
Age is for real, whether one thinks it so or not. “The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be” is a picturesque phrase we might as well admit. Age and life are partners, ever walking side-by-side, but somewhere along the path, going increasingly slower! Dealing with “what is” in life, is the segue into the integrated world of the trekker this month.
There are some realities in life that the sooner we acknowledge, deal with, and even “use” for life advantage, the better off we’ll be. Nothing falls into this reality net more readily than the presence and work of the Holy Spirit to carry us through this journey of “salvation life.” Yet by not recognizing, not understanding and not acknowledging the Source of so-called Christ-like living, we, in essence, toss a wet blanket on the Spirit… or worse, we grieve, quench, or stifle the Holy Spirit’s function and work. Tragic indeed… so far from the truth!
This historical vacuum in the church is subtle. Recently I heard a positive sermon expounding on Psalm 139, focusing on verses 23 and 24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Good preaching; good counsel! But how does God the Father do it? Sadly, so lacking is New Testament update. Old Testament promises and prophecies are culminated in the New Testament! This occurs in the life, death, resurrection and teaching of the God-man Jesus and His revelation of God as the Holy Spirit poured out upon all believers, following His departure back to the Father! We all must proclaim boldly and thankfully the constant work of God as Holy Spirit! I fear the Holy Spirit is seen too often as simply an add-on to faith in Christ’s atoning death, or a doctrinal point upon which to argue about, particularly concerning the time or nature of our receipt of Him, or even a talisman to dispense certain “gifts” to us, if we ask for them. Yet, God the Holy Spirit is the only perfector and energizer and “Christ in you, the hope of glory” reality, enabling us to live the life of Christ (Colossians 1:27, Romans 8:12). We then “do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). No more telling are the words of Jesus to his disciples in John 16: “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (or Comforter, clearly a reference to God the Holy Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go away, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7-11).
Another example… while waiting this week in a doctor’s reception room, I picked up a Gideon Bible. Now I have great respect for the Gideon organization, but lo and behold, in the opening page of “helps” for the Christian life, the salvation plan and its living blueprint, nothing is said about God the Holy Spirit. Unbelievable! Why are we not presenting the genius of our faith? There is no power in our faith apart from God the Holy Spirit.
In this dispensation, God the Holy Spirit is the source of fulfilling the life of Christ in us. This must be known, spoken of and integrated into all life, or we miss the fulfillment of God’s desire to live literally His life in and through us. A mystery… without question! But if we fail in this responsibility, we will deny God the Holy Spirit His functional place in the Trinity, and will tend to misunderstand or minimize our part in His plan. Do you wonder why the Church has seen dramatic outpourings of the Holy Spirit throughout its history? Could it be because the Church tends to neglect His function in effecting the God Christ life in us? Why is so much of modern day faith seen as a refined legalism or limpid moralism by “outsiders”, and therefore, irrelevant to the real world? Could it be that we have neglected to speak truthfully about the work of the Holy Spirit and live changed lives?
St. Paul tells the church at Thessaly, right after the exhortation to be a rejoicing, praying, thankful church (I Thess 5:16-18) to “not quench the Spirit,” (the author of gratefulness, singing and every explosive church). “Do not quench the Spirit’s fire… avoid every kind of evil” (v 19-22). As the fire of God the Holy Spirit sweeps across a land, the church will be doing its job… being salt and light in an oblivious, doomed-to-despair world separated from Him.
We quench the Spirit when we do not recognize His practical work in us, and when we disobey the Lord’s commandments. We do evil when we cut off by disobedience the Spirit’s leading and directing into righteousness, helpful, Christ-like living patterns. God is a consuming fire, seeking to refine and purge all dross and lackadaisical living! He is jealous for our love and cooperation. Salvation is forever to be more than “fire insurance” … it is a life call to be “Jesus with skin on,” possible only through the power of the Holy Spirit and our obedience to His wooing and leading. There is no substitute for submission to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s function to carry out in us Christ’s death and resurrection! A basic question confronts every believer in every generation… am I going to fall in love with Jesus and therefore submit my daily choices to Him, or are we going to be satisfied with our ticket to heaven while still making worldly pleasures our greatest, compelling desire? Every trekker who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.
The Holy Spirit is where the action is in this dispensation of time. What Jesus the Christ has done in human history, God brings about today in human hearts through the Holy Spirit. We must know this, live it, and not be reluctant to speak about it. It is an essential concept that must engulf our lives. Yes, it is mystery. But it is real, trekker! I Corinthians 2 is so telling: “…God has revealed it (God’s plans) to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” Read the passage, trekker, and be blessed. Please do not grieve the Spirit by your action or inaction (Ephesians 4:30). Read I Corinthians 2 now.
Acknowledging the true, loving Genius in my life,
Your friend,
Jim Meredith
