We ain’t afraid of no ghost

As for the title of today’s post, don’t worry, we won’t need any Ghostbusters to come out and put the smackdown on some specters. I just wanted to say a quick word about the Holy Spirit, sometimes called the Holy Ghost (and I didn’t want my announcement earlier today of Miz Pink’s temporary takeover of the blog to be the only post of the day; I need to give you something substantive).

Anyway, if you haven’t thought much about the Holy Spirit, you’re not alone, and it either means you aren’t Christian—or you’re one of the probably 75% of Christians or more who just never think about the Holy Spirit.

Like, I said, you have a lot of company.

Oh, you read about him in the Bible from time to time, but he hardly gets any play. We’re so focused on God the father and creator, and on Jesus the messiah and savior, that we just don’t really pay any attention to the third party in the upper management structure of the universe. Granted, I was of the same mind from the time I became born again up until maybe a couple years ago. I did my best to serve God and to honor Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for me, but I never gave the Holy Spirit a second thought.

At least not until I went to a church that focused on the Holy Spirit. Now, that wasn’t altogether a good thing, mind you. Some churches, Pentacostal ones among them, have a tendency to get a little too worked up about the Holy Ghost and forget to give enough time to God and Jesus. So, while it was a good thing I went to the church in question long enough to get an appreciation for the Holy Spirit, I’m very glad I’m not going there anymore.

So, who is the Holy Spirit and why should you care? Upon becoming born again by accepting Jesus as lord and savior, you essentially build the bridge between you and God that has been missing all your life. Sin and corruption separated you from a personal relationship with God. Jesus made it possible for the bridge to be built. Once you accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters into you and voila, the bridge is complete.

Oversimplified description perhaps, but why stop with the oversimplification now? Another way to think of the Holy Spirit is as a super-conscience. Once you are born again, God essentially lives inside you, or at least a portion of Him does. This isn’t possession, because you still call the shots about what you are, or aren’t, going to do for God and whether you are going to take the paths in life that He wants you to or not. But the quality of your spiritual life depends a lot on how much you are willing to heed the nudgings of the Holy Spirit and how much you are willing to listen to him.

And yes, I’ve said “him” a couple times now. The Holy Spirit is a being, every bit as much as God and Jesus are. Whether or not God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are separate beings representing a Trinity or whether they are all the same being in three different presentations is irrelevant. Regardless of which it is, the Holy Spirit is still someone to be respected, honored and listened to. The Holy Spirit is the comforter that Jesus sends to you and the guide for your faith walk.

So, don’t get so caught up in the Spirit that you lose perspective and forget to give proper attention to your creator and your savior. But at the same time, make sure you don’t ignore him, either, in your Christian walk. Because to do so is to be someone who is saved in terms of your soul, but perhaps lost in terms of getting through life in the best way possible for you and those around you.

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