Receive the Holy Spirit and you will have the full treasure of life.
Like all living things in the world, we too have a source of life, and the Holy Bible says that our source is in Jesus Christ (1st John 5:11). In the Divine creation the spirit of God was given to us. (1 John, 4:13). The Gospel of John 6:63 says as what gives life is God’s spirit. Jesus said in John 10:10 that ‘I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance. ‘In God’s well designed plan of creation there is a secret and that is Christ in us ‘. (Colossians: 1-27).
Christ is the same Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, and He is unchangeable. In 1st Corinthians: 6-19; Jesus says that ‘You are the temple of God, and the spirit of God dwells in you’. Unless the believers of God are filled with the Holy Spirit, by faith they cannot take their journey to their source of life, who is Christ.
Holy Spirit dwelling in us
The unifying factor of oneness and unity in the Divine creation should be imposed into the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. This comes not out our effort, but by the grace given to us, ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8) It is only in the fullness of the Holy Spirit that Jesus started His Galilean ministry.
The spirit of the God is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring Good news to the poor. (Luke 4:18). He also promised the Holy Spirit upon us. ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to be with you forever. This is the spirit of Truth which the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him because He abides in you and He will be with you.
We are guided under the influence of the indwelling spirit in us. With Simon Peter’s declaration of faith in Caesarea Philippi Jesus as messiah shows that ‘Faith’ is the free gift of God. Through faith we become the sons and daughters of God by the grace given to us. The important thing in Christian life is good deeds and good conduct. The fruits of the Holy Spirit teach these in Galatians 5: 22-26. There is only one commandment of God that is the commandment of Love. To bear one another’s burden and responsibilities is the fulfilment of the law of Christ. (Ephesians 6:2)
Once a lawyer asked Jesus, “To inherit eternal life, what should I do?” Jesus narrated the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ and told him to do like manner. We understand from this that the Christian humility should be shown by loving our enemies. All other virtues are born of humility and charity. To build up Christian humility is to fix our eyes on Christ crucified, and we will be drawn all the way into the bosom of the Holy Trinity.
Through meditation and prayer which is gratuitous, and practicing this spiritual exercise through contemplation really enlightens our heart and soul, and we are elevated to know Him, and who knows us through and through. Here we are raised to love and to be loved with the new energy of the spirit that prays within us. Here we begin to witness our own transformation. Now we are in fond of living water to drink freely from the healing source of the Saviour. Only the Holy Spirit can quench the thirst and bring peace and joy to the soul and mind.
The Kingdom of God
To be in the Kingdom and Christ centred prayers over the scriptures, Jesus says in Luke: 17.27 that the ‘Kingdom of God is within you’. To be constantly in the kingdom of God which is within and among us, and to journey towards our source, is the profitable way. Christ centred prayers and scripture reading take us to the love of God and love for humanity. We must see divinity everywhere and in everything. Mother Teresa in one of her talks said ‘If you are not able to see Christ in the first person you meet, you are never going to see Him. Two couples from Germany visited our parish during a retreat, and they came to each one of us and said ‘I love you, because I see Jesus in you ‘.
When we are intensive towards the journey of our source, we might be distracted with the everyday need of us. When we believe in God and seek first His kingdom and righteousness everything else will be added in our providence by God. The kingdom of God is understood by the parables which Jesus taught us. The significance and the Godliness of the word of God is in the parable of the sower. The word was God – John 1:1. ‘The merchant in search of pearls’, Net thrown into the sea to catch fish. Mt:13-45-47, Lamp lit on a lamp stand, and Salt, which is very important for food all these teach about the kingdom of God. To keep a permanent touch with God, it is necessary to know more and more of God. It is beyond your intellect and is possible only with the grace of God.
John 16:14 says that the Holy spirit will glorify Jesus, because the Holy spirit will take what is His and declare that to us. All that the Father has is His, and for this reason Jesus said, ‘That He will take what is mine and declare that to you. John 16:-13 says that when the spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own, but will speak whatever He hears. In this journey, get detached from all worldly things and with your spiritual power reach the destination that is life. ‘What is life to me? ‘It is Christ’. Phillip: 2:-14.
‘Risen Christ’ is my faith. With this fervent faith in me, let me live a life of hope, for Jesus Christ, the head of the mystical body is in heaven in His glory. The head reached heaven in glory. ‘I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.’ (Psalm 23:-6) This voyage reaches the destination, when I witness myself as it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2: 20)
- – - written by Mary Gilbert Ephraims
Tags: holy spirit, jesus christ, thoughts
