“No matter how
close you are to Jesus, without the Holy Spirit, Jesus is still somebody
outside you. He’s close beside you, but the Holy Spirit is inside you.”
(Peter Kreeft) http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/dynamite.htm
After
I read the above quote, I wondered why
the Spirit of God is oftentimes so weak inside me.
I
thought of the candle snuffers that are still used in some Catholic churches
for putting out candle flames after Mass. The flame is usually smothered by
cutting off its oxygen supply. I wondered what was diverting oxygen and thus
snuffing out the flame of the Holy Spirit within me?
Jesus
describes the symptoms of those who suffer from this spiritual malady: They are
“overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the
things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing
comes of it.” (Mark 4:18-19 MSG)
The
Holy Spirit flame is weakened and eventually smothered by worldly concerns and
ego-centered delusions. There is only so much oxygen to go around—and I have a
choice on which valve to open and which one to close. I can either divert most
of my energy to worldly concerns or to fostering the Spirit within me.
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