Tools for Monday: What is the Ultimate Purpose in Life (Part 5)
When it comes to our ultimate purpose in life, Jesus hasn’t left us to our own devices! Since Jesus is the actual goal (telos) of life, he indwells the soul of a person at the exact moment when he or she places faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible refers to God’s Spirit in several ways, but he is mostly referred to as the Holy Spirit. One of the other prominent names for the Holy Spirit is “Advocate” (John 14:16). Translated from the New Testament Greek, the word “advocate” means something along the lines of “one who stands beside.” The picture is of a strong partner who stands up for us and gives us direction in the ups and downs of life. The Advocate is one who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus because he is one with Jesus. Hence, the Spirit is the ever-present advocate who points us in a God-ward direction, even in the tough decisions. The believer is never rudderless or tossed on the waves of despair. The Advocate is always there.
Yet, God created us with a free will. We can resist the leading of the Spirit. The Advocate provides rich, wise guidance, but sometimes we choose to go our own way. Consequently, it is a good idea to pay effective attention to what the Holy Spirit tells us. But how? Here are a few practical encouragements.
- Beware of equating the Holy Spirit to the human spirit. There are times when we may confuse our inner voice (or the popular voices of culture) with God’s Spirit. Our gut instinct is not always right. In fact, there are many spiritual ideas in our culture which may seem relatively correct but are unscriptural and hurtful. We can rest assured, however, that the Holy Spirit will not simply go along with crowd psychology. He is a Spirit of order and not of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:26-39). The Holy Spirit’s ideas and leadings will always line up with what Jesus taught and what the Bible says.
- The Holy Spirit comforts us in difficult times. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit not only as the Advocate but also as the Helper or Comforter. A Comforter is one who strengthens and fortifies us in difficult times. In other words, there is nothing impersonal about the Holy Spirit. He is neither a feeling nor a whim. He is not some spirit in the sky that we have to obtain through hard work. He is a companion and personal guide on every step of the faith journey.
- The Holy Spirit is sensitive to sin. Paul alerted us in Ephesians 4:30 that it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit. In other words, our disobedience causes a visceral reaction by the Spirit, so much so that the Christian may be stung by his/her own sin. This is more than simply feeling guilty over something. Grieving the Holy Spirit is that which leads us to draw closer to God because of our thirst for righteousness.
There is much more to say about the Holy Spirit and his guidance in our daily life. Let’s talk more next week!