Pentecost Sunday C
May 2007
For convenience’s sake I will divide Christians into two groups.
There are those who compartmentalise God: These Christians have times and places when they try to contact God. For instance: at weekend services or at times allocated to prayer; when they are in trouble or in danger. Taking up an approved prayerful posture can be important to them. All you have to do is look at them and you know they are praying. At other times God seldom enters into the equation.
Then there are those who live constantly in the presence of God. Except when you see them in church you can never tell that they are praying. In fact they are in constant contact with God even when they are thinking about other things. They are like a flag on its flagpole. When the wind blows it streams out vigorously in the direction the wind is blowing. Even when there is no wind and it hangs limply it always responds to the slightest puff of air. It is attuned to all air movement. So also these Christians are attuned to the slightest movement of the Spirit of God.
I hasten to point out that few if any of us fall neatly into any of these two groups. All of us are a combination of both to a greater of lesser extent. We can be utterly unaware of the prompting and guidance of the Spirit of God in our lives or we can be constantly aware of the guidance and help of the Spirit. Again, most of us are a combination of both to varying degrees.
Another variable is the type of person we are. Never judge your spiritual life, your relationship with God, by comparing it with that of others, or comparing it with what you read about some 'saint.' Each one of us is created different. Each one of us will have a different relationship with God depending on the sort of person we are. Again, never disparage another's relationship with God. This is something I find difficult as one is inclined to think that one’s experience of God is the only valid one.
Each one is led by the Spirit in their search for God and the relationship they have is, within certain broad limits, something which can only bring delight to God.