Luke 19:26
Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him,
’Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
He replied, 'I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Holy Spirit. Now, I’m not sure what your relationship is like with the Holy Spirit. Too often he gets overlooked when it comes to a relationship because he’s - well - a little extraordinary. But let me just say, if you haven’t reached out and really tried encountering the third part of our Triune God, DO IT! Now, if my shameless plug for the Holy Spirit didn’t work for ya, maybe bribing you with gifts will. The Holy Spirit has GIFTS!! And He wants to drown you in them. These gifts include wisdom, understanding, right counsel, courage or fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Not to mention the same power that the great apostles had once they received the Holy Spirit - I’m talking healing, prophesying, praying in the spirit. All that good stuff. You might think all this is for the super holy. But perhaps the super holy are only super holy because they are ACCEPTING those gifts...and they’re investing and coming back with spiritual profits, like the men in this scripture passage.
In this parable Jesus talks about 3 men who were given gold coins by their master. The first two choose to use the money wisely and both grew profits for their master by the time he returns. The third man, however, hides the money, makes no profit and is thusly scolded. The Holy Spirit longs to give gifts to God’s people. But the Holy Spirit is a little wild. Sometimes I’d even say, by my experience, flighty. Not because He leaves us. But we tend to leave Him and so he steps back and waits until we’re ready. I like to imagine Him as a bird (I know, super original right haha!). If we are the tree that invites the bird, He will light upon us. But if we’re a tree uprooted and bending with the harsh winds of the world, a bird can’t land on our unwelcoming branches. We have to constantly fight the pulling. Fight to stay still and let the Holy Spirit land in our hearts and allow him to give the gifts that will grow and prosper our lives and the lives around us. I invite you today to take a moment and be still… Just welcome that crazy Holy Spirit in and ask for a gift today. Our God is a generous God. Plus, it’s almost Christmas time. The season of giving, right?!