Some gift!
‘If you love me, you will obey my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you for ever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you.’ (verses 15-17)
Read John 14:15-31
Some of the nicest gifts don’t last. Take chocolates, for example. Chocolates are a great gift, but they don’t last long, do they? Nor will flowers, so beautiful and fresh when given, but ready for the compost bin after a few weeks.
God’s gift to you is one that lasts a lifetime. And that’s great, because this gift is the best God has to give you: his own Spirit.
From the moment of your baptism, when you received the Holy Spirit, you have been carrying within you the greatest life force there is. God’s Spirit within you means that the love, joy, peace and power of God are present within you every moment of every day and night. And will stay with you into eternity. Mind-boggling, isn’t it?
And it shows what a mind-boggling God we have that he chooses to give us a gift like this.
Father God, thank you for the great gift to me of your Spirit. May I stop more often to think about just who it is who lives within me. Amen.
by Grace Simpson, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)
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