It wants us to swim...

Taken from Rob Bell's teaching on April 19, 2009

“The common view is that life itself, whatever life is, does not care one way or another, any more than the ocean cares whether we swim in it or drown in it. In honesty one has to admit that a great deal of the evidence supports such a view. But rightly or wrongly, the Christian faith flatly contradicts it. To say that God is Spirit is to say that life DOES care, that the life-giving power that life itself comes from is not indifferent as to whether we sink or swim. IT WANTS US TO SWIM.” ~ Frederick Buechner

And so the Christian view is shaped not by a universe that is indifferent but by a universe that is relational. Not by a cosmos that says you’re on your own, but by a larger universe that says "There is help, there is love, there is guidance, there is wisdom. Ask, ask, ask.”

God gives without limits. Perhaps you are exhausted, burned out, tired. Perhaps you are facing life circumstances. To ask for God’s spirit is to ask for some animated energy. The center of the Christian story is to come to the end of your self. Realizing you do not have the energy anymore. Realizing you can’t do it on your own. Realizing your sins prevent you from perfection. And by coming to the end of your self, you are ready to acknowledge there is a God and it is not you. Walking in the spirit is simply saying God I need your animating energy because my internal spirit is exhausted. What I see is despair. I need help externally. I need something that will transcend what I can see. Give me sight for that which I cannot see presently. I need Your Spirit.