Growing up in a church background, there was a statement I heard bandied about as a badge of honour.
I’m Holy Ghost filled, water baptised with Jesus on my mind.
As with a number of statements, they were easy to declare in a conducive setting. Music playing, feeling the vibe, sensing the mood, uplifted in spirit the words flow with ease.
The music stops, the mood changes, the environment radically alters and it’s a great test to see if the statement still holds true.
As someone who was swift to utter such sentiments in the right setting, I know what it’s like to feel the euphoria one moment and then the shuddering challenge of the radically altered environment in the next. It is not a pleasant experience. It really should have got me to stop using that phrase as well as encouraging others to at least be a little more careful how and when they use it.
It should have. Here’s why it hasn’t. I’ll take the scenic route to get there.
My friend comes and visits me from Milton Keynes. Knowing he’s coming and admiring him for his wisdom a few other good friends pop over to spend some time with him. As I knew they would, they ask him some really good questions. One of them is about the mystery of why believers are struggling. As I knew he would, my friend did not offer the comprehensive answer – he just posed good questions for us to consider.
Questions such as – what do people mean when they say they have been filled with the Spirit? What do we mean when we say we are followers of Jesus? Are we only suppose to have a one-off infilling experience? Could it be true that although we might have had an experience of being filled, many of us have not experienced what it is to continue to be full on an ongoing basis? Could it also be possible that even if we’ve felt full on occasion, the life of being overflowing with the Spirit is somewhat alien to us? Is it a consideration that in and amongst all the beautiful expressions of church and Christianity on the surface, there has not been much in the way of role models of living the life of overflowing? What is the connection between the fullness of life, the overflowing indwelling presence of the Spirit and following Jesus? Are we ourselves the chief obstacle to experiencing these things because of our lack of acknowledging our emptiness and longing to be truly filled to overflowing with Him?
Those were just some of the questions my friend posed. Questions like this got us looking again at what our relationship with God is all about and what does it really mean to be poor in spirit. Questions not just for personal and individual application, but questions to shape a community of believers in our desire together to grow to be fully mature in the image of Christ.
Oh and by the way, why that doesn’t stop me from stating being Holy Ghost filled, water baptised and Jesus on my mind is because two of those three statements refer to what has happened. The last element is dependent on the first element not being a one-off thing that I reckon is sufficient for my relationship with God.
For Jesus to really be on my mind as a priority about all things, I need to come back to the heart of worship and sense the importance of the Spirit in that process.
God help me. God help us all.
(Photo by Ben White on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 