I
t was just recently that I took a walk with my sister. Interestingly, as we walked side-by-side, she began to giggle. I wondered what was so hilarious so I asked her to humour me and she replied, “Acha (brother), do you realize that you walk just like Dad?”. To my pleasant surprise, I had my hands locked behind me and strolled just like I’ve seen my Dad do.
My Dad was brought up in Kerala and did his studies in Orissa, before he came to work in Bangalore 25 years ago. But, all my life I lived in Bangalore. Me, being someone who loves to learn, I picked up everything that I thought looked good. From gestures to body language, I love to pick up new styles. Despite the upbringing in a city, a different culture or the amount of self-development adaptations or practice, I cannot evade the truth that I was made in a particular way and that would show one way or another. It was just in me.
If you look closer at human nature, we have many instincts that are the direct result of sin. But, the truth is that we were made to reflect the image of God as were made in the image of God. You were supposed to be like your heavenly Daddy!
If you then do a little study about God, one thing you notice is that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are completely dependent on one another. They are just interlocked, that at all times they move, work and live as One, having complete individual identities. In the book of the beginnings, Genesis, God says, ‘Let us create man in our own image.‘ You can see the interdependence of God. Jesus says in John 10: 30, “I and my Father are one”. In John 5: 19, Jesus says, “Verily verily I say unto you the Son can do nothing of Himself but what He seeth the Father do..”
And then Jesus speaks to us from John 15: 5 that, “Without me you can do nothing”. Jesus goes on to say in John 14: 16, “And I will pray the Father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever”. Now, this helper refers to the Holy Spirit. (in vs. 17)
My friends, so if you are then made in the image of God, we are made to live a life completely dependent on the Holy Spirit. We can never have a successful Christian life without the Holy Spirit. You are not made to do it alone. We will continually fail in all our attempts to worship, pray, read the Bible, be holy, pursue God without the help of our helper, the Holy Spirit. As I began to write this blog, I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to write this to all the youngsters specifically and all those who struggle with their walk with God.
Jesus spoke and acted on what the Father told him to. Jesus was dependent on the Father. In the same way, we have to learn to die to ourselves to our struggles with our desires to live right and start getting completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to lead us into a walk that He wants us to.
Now that we are made aware of this truth, we can do everything in our lives by putting this into practice! So, to practically speak of, I would hold the Holy Spirit close to me when I open the Bible, when I start to pray, when I minister, when I get close to those temptations – it’s all about Holy Spirit ‘with us’. The complete surrender of our lives to His hands is the beginning of a great moulding to what the Father wants of us on this planet.
Blessings,
Shyju
