The Wind

Two nights ago we had strong winds, and are expected to have more of the same tonight. Not a lot of fun, especially if you're trying to sleep and the house keeps shaking and rattling! There are little branches scattered all over our neighborhood.

Though you can't see it, the wind can be measured, and has effects that you can observe, like trees bending over. God's Holy Spirit is similar in that way. The Spirit can't be seen, but the effects he causes can be seen. We aren't in charge of which way the wind blows, nor are we in charge of the Spirit's direction either. Jesus said in verse 8 of John 3, "The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit." (New Living Translation). The Greek is more literally, 'so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit' but the emphasis is on the idea that the inner change in people by the Spirit can't be seen but the outer manifestation of that change is obvious to all.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would continue his work in the world, like continuing to teach us as Jesus did (John 16:12-14) and convicting the whole world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11). The Spirit has a lot to do with the growth of the church in Acts, and with people understanding God's will (for instance, Acts 15:27) and we believe he continues to be actively involved with the direction of the church today.

How do we know? Well, you can't see it, just like the wind, but you can look at the results. Churches continue to find ways to bring the good news of what God has done for humanity to a changing culture. People continue to be convicted of sin, and their need for the righteousness of Christ. Those people begin to learn how to live a new life, directed by a new sense of peace and an outward love that they didn't have before. And we continue to learn more about how to understand the Bible. Are those all things that would happen through our own effort? Given the track record of humanity overall, I don't think we would find those improvements on our own, or agree on them together. Instead, it seems that God is still busy doing what he does, even sometimes in spite of us.

The wind of the Spirit is blowing. He is calling us all to more understanding of God, more surrender and dedication to his will, and to more actively serving others. Why not hoist your sails like a wise sailing captain, and ask to be carried where He is going. You won't know where that is (John 3:8 again) but if you hang on, you'll enjoy the ride!