Pentecost – the birthday of the church! We celebrate Pentecost when the apostles receive the outpouring of the spirit. We read about that in Acts 2:1-4, “When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”
I love that – tongues of fire – they had to go and speak. They couldn’t help it; they were so filled with the Spirit.
We, too, each of us, is filled with the Holy Spirit by virtue of our Baptism, and sealed with the Spirit at our Confirmation. We know from 1 Corinthians 12:7 that, “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” We are to share, to speak out about how Jesus is working in our lives so that others may benefit.
What would your life look like if you embraced that truth and surrendered to the Holy Spirit with boldness and courage? Your life would be so filled with joy that you couldn’t help but speak out, praise God, and love your neighbor.
A couple of the fruits of the Spirit that we know from Gal 5:22 are generosity and kindness. An attitude of generosity is the heart of stewardship. We gratefully receive God’s gifts. We manage them faithfully. And out of kindness, we care about what is best for our neighbor. Our trust in God to provide and our obedience to His word drives us to generously and courageously share our material resources to make sure our most vulnerable neighbors are fed, clothed, housed, educated – in other words – loved. Their lives change for the good. The health of our cities is improved. Our world becomes a better place.
Think about this – what If all of us would respond to God’s love, step out in faith, heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and give to the needs of the poor? We would change the world. We would literally renew the face of the earth (Ps. 104:30).
Photo Credit: Robert Davis
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