Modern Art

           An old story tells about Liz, who goes to her first show at an art gallery and is looking at the paintings. One is a huge canvas that has black with yellow blobs of paint splattered all over it. The next painting is a murky gray color that has drips of purple paint streaked across it.

            Liz walks over to the artist and says, “I don't understand your paintings.”

            “I paint what I feel inside me,” explains the artist.            

            “Have you ever tried Alka-Seltzer?”

            Paul was pleased with the young Christians in Thessalonica, who clearly had the Spirit of God living inside of them. This was evidenced by the lives they lived among the people of their region. That lifestyle in turn created listening ears on those outside the body of Christ.

            What is on our inside impacts what is on our outside. With the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we should have something beautiful come out.

“Thy Comforter Is Coming”

            Someone put this story on my door the other day:

            Sunday, after church, a mom asked her very young daughter what the Sunday school lesson was about.

            The daughter answered, “Don’t be scared, you’ll get your quilt.”

            Needless to say, the mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the preacher dropped by for a brief visit, so the mother asked him what the Sunday school lesson was about in her daughter’s class.

            He answered, “Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming.”

            That young girl’s doctrine was fuzzy, but she was on the right path. God covers us in his love and ultimate protection—through the Holy Spirit. So why be scared?

A Gracious Guide

I read this week from Diane Neal Matthews, who made an interesting point about Annie Sullivan. You might remember that Sullivan, who was born in 1866, had experienced severe illness early in childhood. Consequently, she was left nearly blind. After three surgeries, risky for her era, she recovered most of her vision.

As a young woman, Sullivan moved to Alabama to help a rebellious, six-year-old girl named Helen Keller. Helen was blind, deaf, and unable to speak. Accordingly, the world did not make sense to Keller.

Annie Sullivan arrived to serve Helen Keller—teaching her to discern right and wrong, good behavior and bad behavior. Thus, Helen Keller experienced life in a more healthy and productive way. Helen Keller’s world began to make sense.

Many people, according to the Apostle Paul, cannot discern how to live in their world. Paul says in First Corinthians 2:14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The Holy Spirit helps people to determine how to live. He gives people a sense of vision. He helps people to avoid foolish mistakes.

Next time you ponder the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, think of Annie Sullivan ministering to Helen Keller. Their story serves as a good word picture for the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit.