Diamond Column #4

You may have gathered by now that I read a lot of books. And all those books out there about loving others, living radically for Jesus, etc. are great, but we can't do any of that without the Holy Spirit.
I realized this partly from reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Basically, I was blown away by how little that I actually acknowledged the daily, even constant, work of God’s Holy Spirit in my life. He really was forgotten. What about you? Do you have any idea what the Spirit is truly capable of doing in your life? We have the exact same Spirit living in us as Jesus Christ did when He walked this earth.

Let that sink in for a minute: Jesus Christ gave us His Spirit.

When Jesus told His disciples that "Anyone who has faith in me, will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these," He meant it! Have you ever read through the Gospels and truly believed you could do even greater things than the miracles listed there? Further yet, read Acts--that's Jesus' promise fulfilled first time around. Those disciples were doing some crazy stuff. Stuff that could never be explained in human terms. Stuff that points straight to the glory of God because there's absolutely no other way that we could explain it.

Just like Jesus' life while on earth, the things He did couldn't be explained on human terms. They were "out of this world." And that's how He brought glory to His Father with every fiber of His being—every moment of His life. The cool thing is that role isn't just reserved for Jesus anymore. Sure, He'll always be the only One who did it perfectly, without any mistakes, but is that going to keep us from at least trying the same thing?

Now think about your life. What happens during your daily life that points directly to the Father--that there's no other explanation for what you're doing besides that you have God's own Holy Spirit dwelling in you? Don't just think of a few “grander” moments that have happened over the years, think about your daily routine. After all, according to Annie Dillard, "How you live your days is how you live your life."

I'm sure (or at least I hope) that everyone could answer that they have the Fruit of the Holy Spirit manifested in their life. But think of this: do you know non-Christians who are loving, joyful, patient, gentle, or self-controlled? I know I do. So how are we supposed to tell a difference?

Well, Francis Chan answers that question by encouraging the readers to ask the Holy Spirit to manifest His Fruit to a supernatural degree. That they be so loving, so joyful, so self-controlled, that there's no other explanation besides that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in them and shining through His temple. I say give it a shot yourself—after all, what have you got to lose? :-)