Listen

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.”

John 14:15-17

Think

The subheading above this passage in my Bible says: “I won’t leave you as orphans.” Jesus spoke these words to his disciples before Good Friday. He then gives them this profound invitation. If you love me, you’ll keep my commandments. What are those commandments? Jesus always said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor.

The invitation to love God and neighbor is always a challenging one. Jesus follows this up with a powerful promise: you’ll be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. You’ll never be alone, and the Spirit will guide you in the truth. The Spirit often shows up as that voice in the back of your head, or sometimes through a gut feeling. Maybe you’ve experienced tremendous peace in the face of a challenge. These are just some of the ways that the Spirit works in our lives.

Susan Sytsma Bratt

Question to Ponder:

How have you experienced the Spirit at work in your life?

Pray

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Thank you for the Spirit’s work in my life when…

Amen.

Go

God, give us eyes to see the wideness of your world, shimmering with beauty and holiness.

Stimulate our imaginations, infusing us with courage and hope.

Surround us with friendship.

Plant us as seeds of resurrection.

Amen.

Peterson Center for Christian Imagination