"For God To Be God, The Leader-King-Lord In Our Lives, Requires Our Acquies

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Jesus is God incarnate and we can say that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, becomes incarnate in us when we let his presence dominate our behavior and attitudes. While we cannot really say that the Spirit is Jesus incarnate for “spirit,” is the opposite of “body,” we can say that the Spirit is Jesus Christ become incarnate in us. His “gifts,” are really his “person,” or “personality,” if you will, come alive and become active in a human person, a person who in no way is divine in his or her nature, but becomes God-like thanks to God’s indwelling. With the “person,” of Jesus dwelling within us, comes his perspective and his power. We are able to see and do things as Jesus both did, in the past, and would, in the present if we let him. It is humbling to know that God gives us this power, really the only power we have, namely, to decide whether or not we will let God be our God. God, of course, is always God and we have no say in that whatever. However, for God to be God, the leader-king-lord in our lives, requires our acquiescence and requires it every minute of our lives. We can give God “permission,” to take over our lives, but we can also take it back without prior notice. Allowing the gifts of his Spirit to stay unwrapped and playing with them constantly not only prevents that from happening, it also promotes God’s purposes in the world. Amen.