The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The Message translation reads, “And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” I like the imagery of this version, but the power of the Word, regardless of the translation, is not lost.

I took a walk the other day and as I walked, I was listening to music written by classical composers who credited God with their inspiration and sought to glorify Him in their music. The weather was lovely, with a cloudless sky, and a coolness to the air that invigorated. The greenway ran alongside a manmade stream. As I walked, I thought about Jesus and the Cross. Without prelude, the thought “torn between my love of self and love for the world, I choose God”, came into my mind. As soon as the words were complete, I saw perched above me, an owl. I stopped to take a picture. He looked around, perhaps at me for a moment and then flew away under the cover of the branches. And then, as if split in two, I emerged anew. At that moment I knew first hand, that it is in the Presence of the Glory of God that I am truly me! So what do I say to this? It is my prayer that the musings of my heart on the goodness of God reflect His goodness!