A Bigger Life

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?  Read these four quotes before you answer the question:

• Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the airplane; the pessimist, the parachute.” – George Bernard Shaw
• A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill
• The optimist sees the donut; the pessimist sees the hole. – Oscar Wilde
• Some people see the glass half full; others see it half empty.  I see a glass that’s twice as big as it needs to be. – George Carlin

 
When you consider your spiritual life, is your cup half full or half empty? 

• Is your relationship with God less than you hope for; but you put a positive spin on the dullness, assuming it’s a sign of faith to be optimistic?
• Perhaps you gave faith a whirl and it didn’t turn out like you expected—leaving a cynical, pessimistic taste in your mouth for the church and the things of God?
• Maybe you’re like George Carlin; have you traded down for a smaller life so you can pretend your cup is full?

     
Jesus doesn’t want us to settle for a half full or a half empty life. Nor does he want us to dumb down our lives, or our theology, in order for our half–hearted, lack luster experience of the Holy Spirit to appear full. On the contrary, Jesus wants to give us the Holy Spirit without limit, (John 3:34.) His promise is not to give us a sprinkle of the Spirit; instead, he says if we embrace radical generosity as a way of life, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into our lap, (Luke 6:38.) Jesus said his intention is to give us abundant life; (John 10:10) a life filled with meaning, purpose, and power; or as St. Peter defines it--a life filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, (I Peter 1:8.)
 
Is that your life experience? Does your faith in Christ fill you with an inexpressible and glorious joy? Do you face the challenges of each day and the routine of life knowing that the power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you? (Romans 8:11) If not these four words from scripture may be a timely encouragement.  

​​LIVE BY THE SPIRIT (Romans 8:1-17)
In this passage St. Paul distinguishes between a life lived in the flesh and one that is lived in the Spirit.  There is a choice we can make each day. We can live by the flesh and let self will govern our lives and our minds; we can live under a religious spirit, believing we must appease God by being good and following the law; or we can choose to live in the freedom of the Spirit, believing there is indeed a Spirit realm and allow our lives and our minds to be governed by the Holy Spirit.
 
DON’T GREIVE THE SPIRIT (Ephesians 4:29-32)
In this passage St. Paul makes it clear that it matters how we treat one another. How we talk to and how we talk about one another makes a difference in the way the Holy Spirit interacts with and through our spirits. If you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit in your life start honoring the person right in front of you. Love your neighbor! Love your enemy! Use your words to encourage and lift up other people.

​DON’T QUINCE THE SPIRIT
(I Thessalonians 5:16–24)
In this passage St. Paul instructs us to “rejoice always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances.”  He goes on to say we “quench the Spirit” when we “treat prophecies with contempt.” We limit the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we diminish our experience of the super natural, when we hold tight to theological constructs that treat the gifts of the Spirit with contempt. If we want more of the Spirit we cannot dumb down our theology to match our experience; rather, we must stretch our spiritual imagination and reach for the signs and wonders of God .
 

REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS (Mark 1:15)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus announces that the kingdom of heaven has invaded earth, “The time has come; the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) I used to think repenting meant confessing sin and getting ready to die; now I know God wants me to change my mind and agree with God’s desire to invade my life with heaven today. 

​Jesus wants to fill our lives  with the Holy Spirit! 

Not half full.

Not half empty.

Full to the brim and running over!

 Maybe it’s time to change our way of 
thinking and get
​a bigger life!