Before Christmas, our congregation’s staff members draw names for a “Secret Santa” gift exchange. At the staff Christmas party, just before the gift is given, there is this funny moment when we are all guessing, wondering who will receive the gift. Is this the one for me? It’s a little like waiting to be chosen for a team as a child. Will they choose me? Am I loved? Will I be forgotten?
Sometimes it feels this way when we think of the Holy Spirit. Seeing other people who are so obviously alive with the Spirit, we might begin to wonder where our portion is. We might even wonder if we could ever earn or deserve the gift of the Spirit. We ask ourselves: Can I be that full of the Spirit? Will I ever receive this gift too? The answer according to Scripture: Yes!
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “The gift of the Spirit: A divine wild goose chase” by Sara Olson Smith in the September/October 2021 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Dag Hammarskjold, renewer of society, 1961.
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