The Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell in us to give us what we need to accomplish our goals and dreams; he lives in us so that we can accomplish God’s will. We want to be a motorboat with the Holy Spirit as our motor: He gives us the power, but we are still in control — but God wants his followers to be sailboats. Sailboats are controlled by the power and direction of the wind. They are useless without the wind. As followers of Christ, our role is to be wind catchers.
The Church, however, often defaults to being a motorboat. We become busy with a lot of activity that looks good and God-honoring, but it has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and everything to do with our own image and desires. We can do all of the “right” things and still be completely wrong if we aren’t submitting to the leading of the Holy Spirit in us.
This is why the Holy Spirit is called “Advocate.” The Spirit is one who draws up close alongside us for our good. The Holy Spirit is our comfort, a counselor, a friend, and our help in times of need. When we become Christians, God gives us the mission of loving God, loving our neighbors, and making disciples, but how can we possibly do this on our own? This is why Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our Advocate to help us accomplish what God created us to do. He helps us to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors, and make disciples to grow God’s Kingdom. Without the Advocate we are purposeless and useless. With the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need.
Reflection/Discussion Question: Do you find yourself wanting to be more like a motorboat or a sailboat when it comes to your relationship with the Holy Spirit?
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