I have always had issues with the trinity. Mostly the part where Jesus is God. It's not that Jesus isn't important; he is why we are Christians. It's more my issue with the man-made idea of a Triune God. I also believe that the Holy Spirit is the applied power of God: God's active force in the universe.
Recently I read an article called, "What Is the Holy Spirit?" I loved the scripture quoted from Luke, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
When I was in Kindergarten we sang a song, "Welcome To My World," that has stuck with me ever since. Here are the lyrics to the refrain:
Knock and the door will open
Seek and you will find
Ask and you'll be given
The key to this world of mine
I'll be waiting here
With my arms unfurled
Waiting just for you
Welcome to my world
Waiting just for you
Welcome to my world
As a child, I thought this was a love song between a man and a woman; but now I see the love song is God Almighty's promise to his creation: Humans. I believe God's holy spirit can work through me and throughout the world. However, I do not believe the holy spirit is in fact a person or a "ghost".
Throughout the Bible we are reminded of the wonderful force of God Almighty. The incredible "universe and all its order and harmony exists thanks to the 'dynamic energy,' or power, of Almighty God."
I think I have spent most of my life believing we all had a spirit (or a soul). I thought of our bodies as a shell that each had a soul (or spirit) poured in, like water. Upon death, that soul would be poured out and ascend to heaven to sit with God Almighty, Jesus, and the rest of the lucky souls. Since my conversations with Bonnie, I am torn between a belief I grew up with and Biblical proof that we have a spirit (like that of the holy spirit). Maybe we are just beings that can be influenced by the holy spirit...
In "The Shack", Sarayu is the name of the holy spirit. The word: Sarayu is actually the name of a river. It means wind or air; and I am comfortable in thinking the power of God is like a river. I often think of the song "I've Got Peace like a River." The peace that can be achieved by allowing the spirit to work through you is overwhelming and wonderful!
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 states:
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."
So where, preytell, does this leave me? Still searching, of course. But I am confident that the holy spirit is not a person; but the power of God.
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