The Gift of All Gifts

“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:  Isaiah 44:3

I’ve said goodbye to loved ones who are now in heaven.  My mother died when I was 30.  I never knew my grandfathers.  One grandmother passed away when I was 10 and the other when I was 25.  My Dad went home to heaven in 2003. And our son, Ryan, in 2019 on Father’s Day.  When you those you love have been nearby, and then they’re gone, the absence is both excruciating and disorienting before it can be comforting.

Think of Jesus’ mother, his disciples, and His friends, after He died.  Feeling His absence left a void the likes of which none of them had experienced before.  They didn’t just say goodbye to a son, or a parent, or a wife or husband; they said goodbye to God.  The One who was called Wisdom had walked with them.  The One who was called Love had consistently discerned their spiritual and physical needs.  The One who was called Counselor had spoken into their thoughts with perfectly crafted language.  When He announced that He was leaving, there was panic.  The caveat in this announcement, however, was the promise that He would come to them again in a much better way. 

It was only months later that Pentecost happened.  They got back the Spirit of the One they feared they had lost, and it was better.  He was right!  Instead of walking with Him on the roads of Judea, they were filled with His presence and took Him with them everywhere they went.  Instead of waiting their turn to speak with Him, His voice was inside, and His words were no longer for the masses; they were personal.  Daily, they were transformed by the incoming floods of Living Water. 

Oh Spirit of God, be poured out upon those who don’t have you or even want you.  Bring those dead in sin to living faith.  Be poured out to comfort those whose hearts are broken, to encourage those who are disillusioned with you.  Be poured out upon the dry bones of our lives, the places where the smell of death is still in the air.  Be poured out upon the Word which we know, the Word which has been preached to us, prayed over us, and yet has not taken root to change us.  Touch our barren landscapes with the promise of green.  We are the dry ground and You are the river.  Amen