Finding the Spirit

Note: The readings in today's blog are actually those intended for yesterday, September 21, 2010. I apologize for getting a day ahead of myself.

Acts 19:1-10
Luke 4:1-13
There is no formal Doctrine of the Trinity to be found in scripture. Even Paul makes no real effort (that we know of) to define how God can be three persons and yet One. But our readings today from Luke and Acts attest to the importance of taking the entire witness of scripture into account, especially when it comes to the work of God. Luke tells us that Jesus, though the Son of God, is nonetheless guided by the Holy Spirit. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness…” (Luke 4:1). In Acts, “(Paul) said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’” (Acts 19:2). As Luke and Acts are believed to have been written by the same person, we can see that the writer has a very strong sense of God’s work through the Spirit. It is a form of guidance for Jesus as well as a sense of purpose. The Spirit is also a conveyor of gifts to those who would follow God in Christ. One does not know God fully until one knows of the Holy Spirit, and one is enabled to endure when one trusts in the same Spirit.

I know that in my own life it is very easy to focus on God in fairly narrow terms. I lose track of the full majesty that God demonstrates when I think only in terms of God the Creator, or of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. There are so many ways that God has chosen to be known by people and none of them is more appropriate than any of the others. In this way our relationship with God resembles a balance diet. Without drawing on all three aspects of God’s person we may suffer a spiritual deficiency, or be too limited in our perception of the glory of God and therefore not able to respond to God’s claim on our lives as fully as we should.

One way to challenge our limitedness is to intentionally address God in a variety of ways over the course of a day or week. If we only ever pray to God as ”Father” or “Lord” or “Savior” we may be missing out on many other ways that grace is manifest in our lives. We may be missing out on a balanced spiritual diet.

Prayer: O, God, great Three-in-One, bless our lives with better vision, that we may see you at work in the world more clearly and that we may be able to follow you more steadfastly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.