Do we really believe Jesus when he said it would be better that he leave Earth and send his Spirit? For most of us, it feels like the Spirit is not a mainstay in our lives. If ever, we really only experience the Spirit in worship or through the conviction of sin. While these expressions of the Spirit are nothing short of miraculous, if they are all we ever get, then who the Spirit is to us seems to be vastly different from who the Spirit was to the New Testament church.
As Jesus commissioned his disciples in Matthew 28, He told them to make disciples, to teach them all that He commanded, and that He would always be with them. From there, as we look at His ascension in Acts 1, He sends the disciples out by telling them to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. Augustine says of this moment, “You ascended before our eyes, and we turned back grieving, only to find you in our hearts.” It is clear by Jesus’ words that his presence would be with them as they accomplish his mission. We see throughout the New Testament, especially in the book of Acts, that God’s greatest promises concerning His Spirit come to those living on His mission. Perhaps the reason we don’t experience the Spirit is because we never put ourselves in need of Him. This begs the question: How engaged are you in the mission of God?