What does the Apostle Paul mean when he tells us to “walk in the Spirit?”Is it some otherworldly experience in which a believer gets a strange look in his eye and wanders around spouting scripture or quoting from the latest and greatest Christian self-help book? Does it happen only in church? Or is it something much more down to earth and ordinary?
God is crazy about people. We are his masterpiece, the best and most valuable of his creation, although we do not always feel that way. He values every person at the same level; he is not like we are. We tend to “rate” people on some individualistic, inner scale and evaluate their worth by our own standards, but our Father is not like that. He reaches out to every one of us continually, waiting for our response, waiting for us to discover why we were born, waiting for that ultimate relationship, the only one that will satisfy our hearts.
We are called to love in this way, but not on our own. God’s love has been “shed abroad” in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He moves and breathes through us. So what about everyday life? There is never a moment in our lives as believers when God is not “seeking to seek” through us.
How do we view people? As means to an end? What about the cynical postal worker who rolls her eyes with every transaction? What about the guy who cuts us off in traffic? Or the exhausted mother in Hannaford, wrestling with a two year old, who looks like she is ready to cry? Can we see these people as God sees them, and respond with his love?
I’m standing in line at Walmart. Finally it’s my turn. Today, for once, I stop and see, really see, the weary clerk who stands behind the counter. Her face is flat and expressionless. How has her day been? How many nasty and unpleasant people has she dealt with? What are her hopes and dreams? How tired is she, and how long does she have to work? Does she ever dream, does she have anyone in her life who loves her, or a friend to share the pain? What would it feel like to hear her voice soften and see her face blossom into a smile?
What a challenge to take an interest in the casual encounter, to reach out, to wonder what makes that person tick, to ask a question or two, to connect. What an opportunity to speak to peoples’ hearts, to see routine resurrections take place. For after all, what is the gospel if not a message of life from the dead? What might happen if we, His Church, begin to look for supernatural setups in everyday situations?
