“The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or wither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the spirit”.
Am I free enough to let the Holy Spirit guide me wherever the Spirit wants? In the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, they attempt to be like God in the sense that they want to determine their own path and direction without God. Now no-one, nothing that has ever existed or will ever exist, wants the best for us more than God does. Also, we are not puppets controlled by God. We are created in the image of God with God-given dignity. God invites not determines or forces us to do anything.
Amazing as we are, we still have limitations. We are conditioned by so many things; childhood upbringing, experiences that we have had, culture, religious upbringing, etc. Conditioning is not bad in itself. A child who grows without boundaries, without initiation into their family and cultural traditions, is disadvantaged. However, conditioning that becomes static, rigid, can be stifling and limiting. It can inhibit our growth and full human development. We need to hold on to our basic core beliefs as revealed by God, especially in Jesus.. These are fundamental truths. However, this is not ‘Fundamentalism’. Fundamentalism limits mystery, growth, and further development.
Jesus was not a fundamentalist. He spoke of deep truths, fundamental truths, e.g. you can make fresh starts, forgiveness of others brings freedom and makes it possible for us to receive forgiveness, each person matters absolutely to God. God’s love is unconditional, etc. etc. He also said that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us to understand more deeply and fully what He had started to say to us.
As a Church, as individuals, we are called to keep listening to the Holy Spirit. We need to expand our consciousness, our awareness. We need to let the Spirit expand our horizons. God calls us to live life fully, to continue growing to develop our potential. We never stop growing. Through prayer the door is open to the Holy Spirit who leads us into where we may not know! Where we, as yet, have not been! It is a wonderful adventure, often full of challenges, and we pray for the courage to let God continue to bring forth the best out of us. Again, we need to let God surprise us!
It is a never-ending story …………
God Bless you today.
Bishop Charles Gauci
Bishop of Darwin