Superhero or Sidekick?
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:13 (ESV)
Meditating my way through John’s gospel with the folks at Lectio 365, this verse caught my attention when it mentioned that the Holy Spirit will “take you by the hand and lead you into all the truth there is.” (MSG) Suddenly, I saw myself as a small child, my hand held in the strongest, most gentle, calmest, absolutely trustworthy Being, conducted carefully around obstacles, in and out of dangers and shadows. I was very close to the One whose hand I held, and there was no shame.
Just so you know, the word the ESV renders “guide” is a perfectly acceptable translation, but so is The Message’s “take you by the hand and lead.” The Greek word is only used 6 times in the New Testament, and two of those are referring to someone leading a blind person, one is the Ethiopian official asking Phillip to guide him to understand the Scriptures he was reading. The remaining use is in Revelation where the Lamb that is on the throne leads His hungry, thirsty, tribulation-weary, worn, sad people to living fountains of water, abundant food and the wiping away of every tear. I can’t imagine a more tender, mindful, soothing walk.
This is the way the Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth there is! What a tender promise!
With this same tenderness, He speaks to us, not “on His own authority.”
Wait! The Holy Spirit is God. He has the same authority as the Father and the Son, yet He waits, listening for what it is He is supposed to bring us as our Advocate, Counselor, Comforter until He hears from the Father and the Son.
Jesus calls Him the Comforter. Makes Him sound squishy and fluffy, not very serious. Kind of like a sidekick. You know, like Robin, source of the snappy sidelines to Batman’s serious plot disclosures. “Holy clever quip, Batman!” Cute perhaps, but certainly not a tower of strength or a font of wisdom. Nice to have around when you’re facing certain death at the hands of the villain of the week, for company if nothing else.
I realized this week that I tend to (please, forgive me!) regard the Holy Spirit as MY sidekick, with ME as the super-hero! Ridiculous, I know! But I tend to operate as if I am the mastermind of my life, with the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead as my glad-you-are-here-if-I-need-you sidekick! Remember the old “God is my co-pilot” bumper stickers? Yeah. Wrong seat, buddy!
Jesus said, “I do not speak on my own authority.”
Even the Holy Spirit doesn’t speak on His own authority!
Who do I think I am trying to be the super-hero of my story?
(SIGH!) Repentance is an ongoing work. This is a paradigm shift of massive proportions. Tectonic plate shift style. I expect there to be some earthquakes…except that the Holy Spirit takes me gently by the hand and tenderly leads me into all the truth there is. Either way, you’ll find me
Following Jesus every day in the everyday.
Christi
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