"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth." John 14:16-17a

There is an English word that is a transliteration of the Greek word used for Counselor. That word is 'paraclete'. No, a paraclete is not a tiny bird that lives in a cage. It means "one who walks beside, an advisor, and advocate, one who comforts, and one who counsels". Such a powerful word. I know I've struggled with the previous two verses, but the one thing that is for sure is that without the Counselor, the previous two verses would be impossible. The word paraclete has become a synonym for the Holy Spirit, but it's still a great word.

As wonderful as the promise of the coming of the Counselor is, the word that caught my eye is the simple word "another". It tells me of the relationship Christ had with His disciples. He was an advocate for them, a counselor, and one who literally walked beside them. He has taken a rag-tag group of societal misfits and transformed them in to what will be the greatest force for change the world has ever seen. If he can do that with men of lowly birth and limited possibilities, what can he do with me? But he isn't here any longer? I know, and that is the beauty of that little word "another". The word another comes from the word that means "one who is the same as", not a "different one".

It's like a child who goes to the local Dairy Queen and their Dad buys them a chocolate dipped ice-cream cone. While getting into the car the door bumps the child's arm and they drop it on the ground. There are tears and sadness over the loss. But then the Dad says, "I'll get you another one". I would expect him to replace the chocolate dipped ice-cream cone... Not bring back a banana split. That is what this word says about the counselor. Christ is being replaced by one just like He is!

I have always struggled with the identity of the Holy Spirit. Just like Thomas who said, "Show us the Father", I have asked "Show me the Spirit". The answer is simple. He's just like Christ. And more, He is the "Spirit of truth". How awesome is that?

Father, today is a wonderful day. I've struggled and struggled to understand the Holy Spirit. I still don't understand everything, but I sure do have a better idea as a result of these verses. Thank you for not abandoning me. Thank you for giving me one who can be my lawyer, my advisor and my counselor. The only problem with the roles you promised for your Counselor is that He won't do the work for me. You've left that up to me. I guess I'd better get started then, right?

- posted by Steve R. @ 8:49 AM

 
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. " John 14:15

I recently taught a class for the Software Bios Engineers at the Intel corporation. It was one of the most difficult classes I have ever had to teach. Every statement I made was challenged, commented upon, or the source for more information that was out of scope to the discussion at hand. The results were less than what I would have hoped, because of the constant interruptions, but the reviews from the class were very decent. Why? Because they perceived that their needs and questions were answered. To be honest, I thought often of this passage. Christ was trying to give his followers important information. He started out with the statement "A new command I give to you, love one another" That was back in John 13:34. Since then He has been dealing with a number of interruptions and questions, each of which he dealt with sensitively and thoroughly.

Now he has returned to his theme... If you love me, you will obey what I command.

I have a problem with commands. I've been told that you don't want to get in my face and challenge me because I won't lose. I do respond better to other forms of communication, but I do resent when I'm told what to do. So commands, even from God, tend to really get in my craw. But Christ softens it by putting a condition on the commands. Obedience is a result of love, not out of oppression. At the same time, the litmus test of my love is how willing I am to obey the commands of the Lord. And I don't always do so well in that area. So what does that say about my love of the Lord?

Father, I do love you. I obviously love the world, too... At least that is what my actions say. Forgive me for the times when I hurt you. Allow the world to see my love for you through my actions today.

- posted by Steve R. @ 9:42 AM

 
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. "
John 14:13,14

OK... Another tough one for me. A few weeks ago, I stated that I disliked the comparison of God to a celestial vending machine: you plug in a prayer and get out a blessing. But that seems to be exactly what Christ is inviting here. The key words here are "whatever" and "anything". So what about our usual response to prayers that says "God always answers prayer, sometimes the answer is 'NO', sometimes it's 'LATER' and other times He answers right away."? This seems to shoot that one down. What's even more disturbing to me is that for Christ to do less than what he has said would make him a liar and THAT would totally destroy the entire premise of Christianity.

I suppose one interpretation is that this statement applies to the time while he is here on earth. The only problem with that is that he's already told them that he is leaving... And he even used that as a reason why they would do greater things than he has done.

Another possibility is that we grow in our spiritual life to a point that we become so much like Christ that when we do ask for something that it will be so much within his intention that he'll do it. I know me... That won't happen. I'm just not there yet.

So what does this say to me? For one, I need to believe a lot more in the power of prayer. That's a weakness for me. I'm guilty of thinking of prayer as more of a monologue than a communication. Don't get me wrong, I believe I should pray. I got into a lot of trouble one time because I told a group of church members, "I don't believe in prayer, I believe in the God who answers prayer." My point is that I've been to countries that are very religious and have a belief system that does not have Christ in it at all... And they pray a lot. More than I do, I would bet. But the difference for me is the God who is listening to our prayer. The contest on Mt. Carmel would be another example. The priests prayed and even cut themselves during their prayers, but there was no deity on the other end of the line.

I don't guess I'll ever understand it all... But one thing is for sure, I'd better start praying like I believe it!

Father, I know you hear me. I guess I don't trust that you'll always answer, and you know what... That's what I get. Maybe you do answer all our requests.

- posted by Steve R. @ 10:04 AM

 
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. " John 14:12

I haven't blogged for a few days, it has been a busy time, but mostly because I have been really struggling with this verse. There is a part of me that would like to take the phrase, "anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing" and interpret as we are to point others to the Father through teaching. But that means I would have to avoid what Christ has just said to Phillip where He says, "Phillip, if you won't listen to me, then believe the miracles you've seen."

I believe. I have faith, so why don't I perform the miracles of Christ? At one time in my life, I studied Reiki. I was told that it was a meditation technique used by a Christian Healer from Japan. Well, that turned out to be a myth. But I have seen miracles performed. I have seen people miraculously healed. But I have never witnessed the deaf hearing, the blind seeing, and the lame walking. From my conservative, fundamentalist background I would explain it by saying that Christ was addressing the Apostles and that the gift of healing passed away after the generation that the Apostles had laid hands on died out. If that was the case, why would Christ use the word "ANYONE"?

So for now, I'm just going to have to put a definitive answer on hold. I'm going to have to have faith that eventually I'll see clearly. One day I'll be able to ask the Lord directly what He meant in this statement.

Father, It's not often that I'm really stumped. I like having all the answers. I like being the expert. Well, this isn't the day. My heart and my intellect are at odds with each other. I would like to perform miracles in your name. But then would I become like the evangelists that I see on TV? The ones saying, send me your money and I'll send you "MY" miracle used hankie? You know me too well... I guess I would be. Guide me to where I need to be... I'll let you take care of the details.

- posted by Steve R. @ 10:06 AM