I Live By The Spirit

" On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you! After this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Jesus said, ' As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And He breathed on them and said, ' Receive the Holy Spirit.' [John 20: 19- 22].

Pentecost means, "fiftieth day". Pentecost is a Christian feast that is celebrated fifty days after Easter.

Pentecost was the day when Jesus gave the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is really the birthday of the Christian church, because God existed before Genesis; and Jesus, His Son came thereafter; and Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto the disciples on the fiftieth day after Easter. And so, at Pentecost, the Holy Trinity came to completion and the Christian Trinity was born.

The Holy Spirit is mystical, ethereal; everywhere and nowhere; inside us and inside others. The Holy Spirit is not the Christ, but comes from the Christ. The Holy Spirit bestows upon us the Gifts that enable us to know Jesus more fully. From these Gifts come the fruits of the Spirit.

We live in a world that worships, not God and the Holy Spirit, but technology and science. In this modern world, we have become so devoted to hard cold facts, that we have lost sight of mystery, incipient creative forces, mysticism and awe.

We believe that because we cannot prove that the Holy Spirit exists, then the Holy Spirit cannot, therefore, be real. Have we lost all wisdom; all hope; all love; all intuition?  No wonder modern humankind suffers from anxiety and depression. . . .

I will tell you, then, my story. And I will say that, even without knowing as a child, who the Holy Spirit was, I have lived my entire life by the Spirit.

When I was a little girl, I sat in the pew at church and struggled mightily to understand words such as "Redemption", and " Salvation". I wondered what Heaven could possibly look like, and where, exactly it was. I had the Gift of Wisdom: that is, the desire to know Christian belief.

My parents tried to force upon me their own idea of what I would be when I grew up. But I had the Gift of Knowledge-- a knowing, deep inside me, that it was God who had a plan for me.

When my parents stopped taking me to church, I continued to ask them to take me to Sunday services. I had the Gift of Piety: I was willing to worship God and to serve Him, even if my family refused.

When my mother would declare that we "worship the Almighty Dollar", I would silently correct her by whispering to myself, "You mean, Almighty God." I had the Gift of Awe for the Lord.

Gradually, I came to utilize the Gifts of Counsel; that is, I developed an intuition regarding how to act, even if this was not what I was being taught at home. And I came to exercise the Gift of Fortitude, that is, I acquired the strength to pursue my convictions.

From these basic Gifts, I began to reap the Gifts of the Spirit.

I made Peace in the home, offering to perform the family chores that were otherwise the subject of argument.

I was able to cultivate Joy, even in the cruel, loveless home in which I lived. I sang songs and brought flowers in from the garden.

Even though no one ever hugged me or told me that they loved me, I lived my own life of Love, by being Gentle and Patient, Modest and Good.

I learned to take the long view, and to stay out of the way as necessary. When I was hit, I left the house. When not fed, I found food elsewhere. I started saving for my independence at age 13, saving up every dollar that I could from my babysitting business. I was learning Patience and Forbearance.

My father had an ugly name for every ethnic group. He was so angry at the world. But I sought Self-Control. I decided not to hate back.

No, I cannot systematically prove the existence of the Holy Spirit. But since I grew up in a home of hate, violence, every kind of abuse, a home where nothing was sacred, where wealth was worshipped, and where Faith was mocked; a home where it was believed that your gifts come from your parents; a home of no Joy and no Love; then how could I possibly have known how to pursue the Gifts and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit--- unless the Holy Spirit exists and lives inside of me?

You want Science? I will give you Science:

Science says that I should be dead by now, from suicide, from alcoholism or drug overdose. But no, I found the Fruit of Joy, not the curse of despair.

Science says that I should never have been able to get married. But no, I found the Fruit of Love. I am not alone! I have a wonderful husband, and I am a devoted and loving mother.

Science says that I should be in jail now, after a young life lived with violence and hate. But no, I long for Peace and I work everyday to make my family, my neighborhood, my world, a place of Peace.

Science says that ethnic hatred is taught. Given that theory, I should be bitter and angry and hateful towards everyone. But no, I have received the Fruits of Gentleness and Kindness and I bestow them upon all.

Science says that I should have been so damaged that I would never have been able to discover my abilities or utilize them in a profession. But no, the Gift of knowing that God had a plan for me has enabled me to love and to serve Him with my talents.

I have lived by the Holy Spirit, by His Counsel, His Wisdom, His Knowledge, His Understanding, His Faith and His Strength.

I am still here, by the Grace of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has taught me all the things that my human family did not. Everything I have, that is Good and Gentle and Patient and Loving and Kind and Wise and Joyful and Forbearing and Strong, I owe to the Holy Spirit within me.

In fact, I owe my very life to the Holy Spirit. And I thank God every day that I had the Wisdom to recognize God's voice, and the Strength to follow Him!

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2013. All Rights Reserved.