Out of Our Depth Gifts
I wasn’t comfortable then and no more so today these many years later (see: The Holy Spirit: Distinct, Alive and Uncomfortable). When Jesus said he would ask the Father to send a Helper with gifts, he meant it. He did not ascend to God and leave his followers bereft, alone and powerless (see: Joy and Sorrow’s Constant Companion). But it’s a two-way relational transaction–there is the giver and the receiver. For the receiver there are implications to re-sourcing, connectivity and empowerment.
“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper, to be with you forever…” John 14:16 (ESV)
The Helper does not show up empty-handed but pulls up to the curb with a truckload of gifts. If we believe it, what gets unloaded from the truck is unbelievable. Certain gifts are unusual, dramatic; even supernatural ( 1 Cor 12:4-11 (NIV). God’s science doesn’t explain to us everything, yet.
If we want to peel back the wrappers and deploy the gifts, we may feel unsure and out of our depth. The gifts produce a change in our relationship with God and change is unsettling.
Experiencing God in New Ways
The gifts are for the good of humankind and building the body of believers; if brave what would you ask first? What would you be willing to test and try out?
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Mathew 7:7 (NIV)
The asking is easy but the receiving open’s a can of worms because with a gift from God, it’s meant for use. Where, when and how, are important considerations. We begin to experience God in new ways.
And remember, the gifts aren’t about you. They are for bettering humankind.
Are you in?
The “In” Gifts
But what does “in” mean; to what are we agreeing in receiving these gifts?
Writers have dedicated whole books to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Presented here is the short-list version.
In the life of a believer God promises: to teach, guide, deepen union, make alive sacred texts, and make us bold and able to share our experiences of God and Jesus.
The gifts bear fruit. We experience more: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, humility, self-control. We awaken to a new way to live in community.
The dramatic, some might say supernatural or charismatic gifts are: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Whoa, do you feel the shiver across your spine? This is not something we meet at Sunday morning services.
But the sum-total is that God’s presence becomes experiential and flowing. Our relationship tinged with a new vibrancy, potent and real. That’s what “in” means–a relationship exhilarating and unnerving and out of our depth as we experience strange gifts of the Holy Spirit.
To be continued…