God has grown me this summer; grown me, not as a fast shooting weed, but gently, as a Master Gardener cultivates a prize rose. He has used this summer as a time of refreshment. He has used this summer to let me worship Him. He has used this summer to show me, once again, that a relationship with Him is real. He has revealed to me the realness of the Holy Spirit.
I first started thinking about the Holy Spirit on our mission trip. I read, in my quiet time one day, the story of Stephen's stoning. When it said in Acts 7 that Stephen saw the glory of God, I wondered, what does God's glory look like? For some reason, the story reminded me of Saul, who tragically had the Lord's spirit removed from his life. I cannot imagine the jet black emptiness. Saul, who had tasted the glory of God, began to gorge himself on his own glory. There's not room in the belly of man's soul for both dishes. I am so very thankful that God will not take away His Spirit from His followers today. As I thought about the appearance of God's glory, I realized something. I have seen it. It is inside of me. We believers have a piece of God's glory within us. We Christians have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, in our hearts. God in us.
The mission trip is when I finally saw the awesomeness of the Holy Spirit. Back home, I've seen the authenticity of it at my job... the day care, of all places!
There is a boy, a soon-to-be fourth grader, who attends both my home church and the day care. Last year, he became a Christian at our VBS (he was in my group). I wondered then, did he really mean it? Did he even understand what he was doing? The answer to both, I now know, is a resounding yes. I can see the Holy Spirit working on his little heart. If he does something wrong, I can see the Holy Spirit convicting him as he ceases play and mulls over his actions. He will come and confess to me or ask me if what he has done is really wrong. At the end of the day he usually asks me, "Did I do anything wrong today?" At first, I found his questions and confessions slightly amusing. Now I find deep comfort in them. The Holy Spirit is real. It's not some mystical being floating across our most moving worship services. It's not some power you gain after a sizable donation to a big-haired man on television. It's not an angel perching on one shoulder or Jiminy Cricket whispering in your ear. The Holy Spirit is God. Three in one. Father, Spirit, and Son. And we have this treasure in jars of clay. We are not the value. We are just clay pots. But we have become valuable because of what we hold. We clay pots contain diamonds. God in us.
