Lenten Reflection–Filling Softly

photo by Josh Scholten

When all nature is at rest, not a leaf moving, then at evening the dew comes down — no eye to see the pearly drops descending, no ear to hear them falling on the verdant grass — so does the Spirit come to you who believe. When the heart is at rest in Jesus — unseen, unheard by the world — the Spirit comes, and softly fills the believing soul, quickening all, renewing all within. Robert Murray McCheyne

Amidst the hubbub and chaos of modern life, there comes a time when I must quiet myself, voided of selfish desires, hushing harried pointless ambitions. I seek rest and renewal within a freshening of purpose.

When I am thus silent and still, receptive, emptied of self, I am ready.

It is then I am touched, filled oh so softly. Without fireworks or thunderclap, or dramatic collapse. As the Spirit descends like silent dew onto my longing heart, I wake restored, a new life quickened within me.

It is that simple. So gentle.

photo by Josh Scholten

Advent Meditation–Quickening Spirit

There is a distinct and memorable moment in pregnancy, around 16 weeks, when there is an undeniable awareness of movement within the womb–initially a fluttery feeling, but then over the next few days, there are tickly sensations, then rolling, then pushes.  It is referred to clinically as “quickening”–an emphatic evidence of life within–and there is profound acknowledgment that one’s life is no longer one’s own.   It is now shared.

Jesus is called the “second Adam”  through his death and resurrection,   a quickening spirit now shared with us, so much more than the  simple life and breath of the first Adam.  The spirit lives and breathes within us, fluttering and rolling, pushing us from inside, creating in us more than we ever could become on our own.  We are startled by its presence, amazed by its touch, forever transformed, and never, never to be the same again.

1 Corinthians 15:45