GERSHOM AND KITES

Moses was a Hebrew and that would have made Canaan his homeland.  But Moses was living in Midian when his first son was born.  So he named the boy Gershom, which means "stranger in a strange land".

I hear you, Moses.  The Bible says this is not our home and our hearts long for heaven.  We, too, are strangers in a strange land.

Even so, there are glimpses of the coming kingdom.  When I look at Baby Will's little face, I think of God's goodness and perfect plan.  My heart overflows with thanksgiving and that worship transports me to God.

Jesus wants us to want His kingdom.  And each little glimpse into the kingdom leaves us thirsty for more.  Worship is our vehicle.

Our Sunday School class has been studying worship this month.  We've explained worship as "our active response to God where we declare His worth".  We respond actively in song and sermon and study and service and speaking (to Him in prayer) and sharing (Christ).  All is worship. We've seen Scripture call for worship to be corporate and private as well as planned and spontaneous.  But if we want to get more "how-to" specifics, we can go to the Source.

When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in John 4, He told her "God is spirit and the people who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth". Then He went on to say that true worshippers are the people that the Father seeks.  Well...sign me up for THAT subset.  I want to know more about spirit and truth.  I get the truth part...truth is what God says.  From the worshipper's side, truth is an honest heart before Him.  But the spirit part is harder to grab onto.


We're made of three parts...our physical body, our spirit, and our soul (which includes mind, will, and emotion).  When the Holy Spirit comes into my life, one of His gifts is to give sight to my spirit.  Then as I allow, I am progressively being "Spirit-filled" when I permit the Spirit of God to have ascendancy over each part of my soul.  When He fills my mind, I have brought my thoughts captive to Christ.  When He fills my will, I am no longer driven by my fleshly desires.  When He fills my emotion, they are no longer master and I can have peace in distress.  (BTW, this is only accomplished by the Spirit of God.  I don't naturally allow Him to override my mind, have His way with my will, or steer my emotions.)


So how do we hit that delicate balance in our lives of worshipping in spirit and truth?

Have you heard of the kite analogy?  The kite represents the Holy Spirit.  The Greek word for spirit is "pneuma", which also means "wind". So the Holy Spirit is an updraft that comes under us to bring strength or perspective or gratitude or direction or whatever might glorify God at that minute.  


Soaring with the Holy Spirit is so right because we were made for that closeness to God.  The experiential is part of any love relationship.  I can't imagine a relationship with Mike without the feelings.


The second part of the kite analogy is the kite string, which represents the Word of God.  God's words allow us to stay anchored in truth.  Remember the verse that says "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"?  Jesus is the Living Word.  The world shifts constantly, but His truth is steady. In my earthly love relationship, there are days when I may not feel loved and have to remind myself objectively that Mike loves me.  So it is in Scripture.  As I read about the Father's plan and Jesus' passion and the Spirit's empowering, my love for God flourishes.


Everyone knows churches which focus on the Spirit over the Word.  They can get "off in the weeds" experientially and sidetracked.  On the other hand, we may know churches that focus only on the Bible to the exclusion of the subjective.  Cerebral exercise can be cold and dry.  A good balance happens when spirit and truth intersect.  


Just as the Designer said.