Hey, Cobblestone,
In our last letter, I left you in suspense – not a
cliffhanger exactly, but an unfinished train of thought. I had said that, in
doing good works, there is an essential element, the Go/or/No-Go of every good
work. Are you ready for the reveal?
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up
and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and
drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has
said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living
water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who
believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not
been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).
How many good reasons are there for doing good? Hard to say,
but we know there are many. How many bad reasons are there for doing good?
Again, hard to say, but experience tells me that there are about as many bad
reasons as good ones. We could begin to sort through them, checking our
motives, comparing our works with others. We could try to gauge the
effectiveness of our efforts. Here’s a better method: to be animated by God the
Holy Spirit. That’s what Jesus was getting at. These are the rivers of
living waters he spoke of.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit living within – some way,
somewhere, somehow. Just a nibble of Scripture evidence comes from 1Corinthians
12:13…
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one
body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one
Spirit.
From the same chapter comes the clearly defined reason for
every spiritual gift…
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good (verse
7).
Hey, Christian, the indwelling Holy Spirit is the life in
Christ in you… the mystery hidden for ages and
generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make
known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory
of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
(Colossians 1:26-27). To be animated by the Holy Spirit is to act on the life
of Christ in you.
Not to say that non-Christians can’t do good; indeed, it
happens every day. But I see a lot of frustration, especially in the public
sector: there’s never enough money/time/people/programs to meet the needs. And
among Christians who are not animated by the Holy Spirit as much as they could
be, I see the same frustration for all the same reasons. The difference, of
course, is that Christians have the ability to act on the life of Christ within
them.
I used to think Christians had to be poked and prodded into
doing good works. After much poking/prodding, I see more clearly now: make a
few opportunities (and eliminate a few distractions), and the regenerated souls
of my brothers and sisters will rise to the occasion. It might not be in
coordinated, quantifiable ways, but it’ll happen. Probably the best strategy
for me, at this stage-and-age of life, is to recommend reliance and trust in
those rivers of living waters. Consulting with Holy Spirit will sort the
motives for us, and will lead us to the one mission-critical question in the
consideration of any potential good work:
Is there a future in it?
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one
sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own
flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to
the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not
grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not
give up (Galatians
6:7-9).
One phrase from that passage gets more air time than most of
the others: let us not grow weary of doing good. I can tell you for a
fact: doing good, without considering whether there’s a future in it, is
wearying. It will leave the do-gooder, even the Christian do-gooder, bone tired
and gut-level frustrated. (But) the one who sows to the Spirit will from the
Spirit reap eternal life.
I won’t claim to have sorted out all the future-less works
from the future-full. I’ve gone into some good works believing there was a
future in it, only to find out, um, not so much. Conversely, I’ve been
surprised at the far-reaching effects of others. I’m counting on getting a
thorough debrief in heaven. Meanwhile, here’s what I, and every Christian, can
do: a quiet, reasoned conversation with God the Holy Spirit – the life of
Christ in us, the hotline to the one who sits at the right hand of the throne of
God – will lead us to the one essential question, which is, again, “Is there a
future in this good work I’m considering?” If that question is too daunting, I
can recommend a few others that lend evidence:
·
Will
God be glorified?
·
Is
human dignity being built up?
·
Is
the person I serve being invited into the life of Christ?
·
Will
the person being helped, in turn, be put in a position to help others?
In the mind of God, there is a To-Do list for each of his
children – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). We may
safely assume that every item on the list is good and worthwhile. The happy
news is that, through the counsel of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to
understand what’s on the list… and what’s not.
Let’s wrap up the Do-Gooders series of letters with a prayer:
“Lord, increase our faith. We want to trust, more, in the
leading of your Holy Spirit. We want to do good and not grow weary. Bring glory
to yourself and blessing to others. May your kingdom come, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.”
Grace and Peace (and plenty to share),
John
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