By Jonathan Keller
Little sparrows chirp at each other in the early morning dawn. Dogs bark while cars zoom to school and work. A familiar waft of fresh coffee fills the air. It’s a new day in suburbia.
Most mornings start this way. Many evenings close the same, too. Garage doors creak to welcome their masters into their wooden castles. Coffee aroma gives way to dinner simmering on the stove. Kids run around until bed time. Netflix’ glow ushers in the evening before the adults drift to sleep.
After so many of these days, where is the vibrance of the Holy Spirit? This life seems complete but not full. Peering into the book of Acts, there seems to be far more action: tongues of fire, defenses before councils, traveling over dusty roads and stormy seas. Healings! Exorcisms! Communal life, together!
Suburbia gives people a glimpse of the final Sabbath rest: all is in order, all is at peace. There are no problems in suburbia.
Except for a few things – tantrums before school drop offs; blood-boiling traffic; all the bills!
All of this is a façade that life can be complete within a closed human system. Behind this illusion is God’s mighty hand upholding it all. Without the giver of life controlling the advance of corruption, suburbia would crumble before the sparrows chirp. Thankfully the Lord left us with instruction on the Holy Spirit’s ministry.
Before the Spirit was poured out, Jesus whetted His disciples’ appetite for the Third Person. He told them that the Spirit would come to teach them all things and to bear witness about Him (John 14:26; 15:26). He even told them that the Holy Spirit would come in power to allow them to bear witness all across the world to Jesus (Acts 1:7-8).
Through the ministry of His Word, Jesus also recorded the work of the Holy Spirit. What things should we expect to see from the Holy Spirit? Healings, disasters, and prophecies were just signs of the end of the age. The substance, the meat, of the Holy Spirit is salvation (Acts 2:21). His work is a guarantee of the redemption to come (Ephesians 1:13-14). His evidence is fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The vigor of the Spirit is not the outward miracles but the blossoming of spiritual life in people!
What kind of wonders could the Spirit work in the humdrum of suburbia? What if every house was known for moderation in entertainment rather than gluttony? What if every person was treated like we treat little children or aging elders? What if no person’s name was forgotten but remembered because they were invited to regular dinners with neighbors? What if there were no “seedy” parts of town? What if the lonely were regularly folded into our rhythms? What if traffic soothed our souls? What if communities banded together during conflict? What if block parties happened for every little thing? What if growth in the knowledge of Jesus crowned all of these outward acts, adorning them with the glory of the Lord who works all of them?
Pray with me for the work of the Holy Spirit in our communities so that we could see these miraculous fruits among us!
