I was reading a friends blog the other day when I noticed the phrase “the Holy Spirit is on the Move”. It struck me in a really interesting way, probably the best way I could describe it would be to quote from the Chronicles of Narnia how the Pevensie children felt when they heard that Aslan was on the move:
“And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken [his name] everyone felt quite different…. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.”
Just reading it gave me a sense of expectation and wonder and excitement about what the Holy Spirit was doing in the world and how I could be a part of it. When the Holy Spirit moves around the earth, it’s not a small thing. And yet I think of many other times that I’ve heard about the Holy Spirit doing something and almost shrugged my shoulders and forgotten about it. I think we can sometimes distance ourselves from the move of God and live content in our comfortable worlds. We hear what other people are doing for the kingdom and think “great for them” and then we go back to our routines.
We do this with tragic events also. We spectate and get entertainment out of the misery faced by others. We hear terrible stories on the news, stories that don’t really affect our lives but are told to grip people emotionally. Hotel Rwanda is a movie that describes terrible tragedy and genocide that has happened in our generation and that the international community did nothing to stop. A character in the movie films the atrocities being committed in Rwanda and the following conversation takes place:
Paul Rusesabagina: I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene.
Jack: Yeah and if no one intervenes, is it still a good thing to show?
Paul Rusesabagina: How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?
Jack: I think if people see this footage they’ll say, “oh my God that’s horrible,” and then go on eating their dinners.
As we get closer to leaving the U.S. behind for a year I find a growing anticipation of the Holy Spirit’s move and I see myself noticing the little daily ways that He shakes things up in my life and in the world around me. The Holy Spirit is on the move. I don’t want to just sit back and watch from a distance. I don’t want to live like a spectator. As we go on this race we are excited about the chance to lay our hands on people in need. To be in the places where people are dying and hurting and starving. We want to bring what little we have and give it all away to the people God brings into our path. Once you’ve seen, you’re responsible.
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