Holy Spirit?
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Jesus was passing the baton. He was telling his closest followers and friends that there was to be an exchange of persons to be their helper. Other translations call it an advocate, friend, or better yet, comforter. In fact he tells them, If I dont go away, the helper will not come to you.
The spirit is ours. In the same way that water is liquid, vapor, and ice, we have one God, three persons. It was true in the first century. It is true today. I know it sounds like church, but its also a huge promise. Jesus didnt leave us like orphans. Hes here to comfort, encourage, and guide us. Hes here to heal us.
Like the wind, we dont understand it all, but we dont understand a lot of things. It doesnt stop us from believing in them. It doesnt stop us from having faith. And faith can change us.
By Curt Harding
More: What We Believe
The Holy Spirit, Explained ► read more
Grace, Gods greatest idea ► read more
Sacred Space, Our Sanctuary Within ► read more
You may also like: get free Bible | UMC+Hunger | UMC+Malaria | UMC+Community | Like Us | "Pin It")
“Peace be with you,” he said.“Receive the Holy Spirit.” And he breathed on them.
It has been said that describing the Holy Spirit is like describing the wind. We know it’s there because we can feel it. We can see its effects in the trees and on the water. But what is the Holy Spirit?
Perhaps a better question is who is it? And if it is what the Bible says it is, how can we have a relationship with something we cannot see?
Part of the reason I think we struggle with the idea of a Spirit is that we have an image of God in our minds. At the very least we know that his voice sounds like Morgan Freeman. We also think we have a pretty clear image of Jesus. He’s Jim Caviezel in The Passion of the Christ, right? Rugged good looks, long flowing hair, and piercing blue eyes. He’s kind. He’s accessible. He’s got our back. We can’t really picture what a Spirit looks like. And how can the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be one in the same?
It’s Resurrection Day. The last time Jesus’ disciples saw him he was hanging on a Roman cross. Suddenly he steps into the room. Can you imagine the electricity in that place? Imagine the emotion. Imagine the outbreak of joy, laughter, and tears. High fives all around, Jesus is back! He’s right there! But Jesus doesn’t spike the football. Instead, he tells them that he is going away. “Peace be with you,” he said.“Receive the Holy Spirit.” And he breathed on them.
“…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, that he may be with you forever— 18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)
Jesus was passing the baton. He was telling his closest followers and friends that there was to be an exchange of persons to be their helper. Other translations call it an advocate, friend, or better yet, comforter. In fact he tells them, “If I don’t go away, the helper will not come to you.”
The spirit is ours. In the same way that water is liquid, vapor, and ice, we have one God, three persons. It was true in the first century. It is true today. I know it sounds like church, but it’s also a huge promise. Jesus didn’t leave us like orphans. He’s here to comfort, encourage, and guide us. He’s here to heal us.
Like the wind, we don’t understand it all, but we don’t understand a lot of things. It doesn’t stop us from believing in them. It doesn’t stop us from having faith. And faith can change us.
By Curt Harding
More: What We Believe
• The Holy Spirit, Explained ► read more
• Grace, God's greatest idea ► read more
• Sacred Space, Our Sanctuary Within ► read more
You may also like: get free Bible | UMC+Hunger | UMC+Malaria | UMC+Community | Like Us 
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Comments
"We know it’s there because we can feel it. We can see its effects in the trees and on the water."
The natural world has been deeply explored by scientists, and the building blocks of ecosystems are rooted in organic compounds. Water is prolific because the Hydrogen and Oxygen that comprise it is abundant in the the universe. Hydrogen is perhaps the oldest element in the universe because it is the most simple and formed just after the universe cooled to a point where electrons were no longer annihilating themselves at a constant rate. Trees are prolific because they thrive off of sunlight, and there is a lot of that shining on the planet. The effects you're seeing around you are because of the interaction of atoms, and the nature of molecules. You know the wind is there even though you can't see it because air moves in weather patterns from high pressure to low pressure based on the environment. There is no secrete there, no spiritual mystery. Rest assured that the phenomena in the natural world is explained with science and facts. The men who wrote the Bible knew nothing of science; in fact they had no idea about the existence of germs, the elliptical orbits of the planets, or the chemical composition of the dirt they slept on. Those mysteries have been explained. You can take scientific explanations on fact, and move away from the uncertainty faith requires you to maintain.
There is no conflict between science and religion. Rest assured that even men of science (and I am one) know nothing of the origins of the universe. The Big Bang Theory, to which you allude, is only a shadow of an explanation. What existed before the Big Bang? What brought that former universe into existence? There is no answer - nor will there ever be for us mortals - even the originators of that theory acknowledged this deficiency.
Some matters can be satisfactorily resolved and explained by science, and some cannot. The Spirit, which is the subject of this thread, is one matter on which science has nothing to offer. The wind analogy is simply that - an analogy, not a logical argument or an explanation. Discussions of faith are best viewed as poetry, not science. That doesn't make them less valuable.
I had a friend who was shocked when I told him something similar. It went against every tract a well-meaning person gave him. Me discussing evolution with him and not disagreeing with everything he said totally rocked his world.
To us (i.e. my family) IT's more than a "nice read." Mom taught us to live and breathe what she calls The Great Spirit every moment of our lives. That comes from her native American heritage.
the water analogy is perfect - thanks for this nice read!