I am no
theologian but I know when I have been anointed to accomplish something for
which I not capable. I remember having a
conversation with a young seminarian and mentioning off-handedly that in my
ministry to women God gave me an anointing for driving a 15-passenger van and
for knitting 100 scarves, among other things.
He was quick to reply that he doubted my claim that the Holy Spirit
would anoint me like that.
I felt
sorry for him because I realized that he had not yet discovered the fullness of
what the Holy Spirit can do in a desperate Christian. It is truly miraculous. I was reminded of that conversation this week
when I was reading in my daily devotions from 1 John 2:27: As for you, the anointing you received from
him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his
anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not
counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. His anointing teaches you about all
things.
Now
I even shudder to go too far here. A lot
of Christians have done a lot of damage to the name of Christ by claiming God
told them this or that. I’m actually
surprised that John would write so boldly here to church members who are
fighting heresy in the church. He told
them that they had the Holy Spirit inside of them and that the Holy Spirit
would alert them about false teachers.
He basically taught them to trust God to lead them through the Holy
Spirit. He is encouraging them to have utter confidence
in the Holy Spirit’s anointing. We need
that. But we also need to know that we
don’t know everything. I love to be
challenged to look at Scripture in whole new way, after decades of thinking a
certain way, when someone more knowledgeable than me expands my understanding. This is only in minor issues, not the major
doctrines of orthodoxy.
I
do rely on the anointing I have received for all things secular and
sacred. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me
figure out what to wear when I can’t think how to get an outfit together (which
happens occasionally). I ask the Holy
Spirit to anoint me for healing so that I won’t have to go to a doctor. That doesn’t mean that I won’t go to the doctor. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me get all my
tasks accomplished by a certain time. I
often beg for His mercy when I am running late.
I take all things literally and feel His presence, strength and wisdom
in all my life. I don’t really notice if
the Holy Spirit is involved when I pick out an outfit each day—it’s only when I
get stuck. I am anointed at all times
because of the Spirit of God who lives me, I only notice how He orders things
up for me or gives me strength when I am paying attention.
I
often find the Holy Spirit gives me peace that I cannot know a certain path to
take until the path is opened in God’s time.
It’s not that my anointing makes me know things in the way one might
look into a crystal ball. I don’t know
the numbers that would win a lottery.
But the anointing is for me to know through the power of the Holy Spirit
inside of me what I need to know in order to live my life to glorify God.
The
anointing is real and is not counterfeit, although there is counterfeit
anointing that is claimed by some people that a real anointing would make you wary
of. I guess the key to living out this
passage fully is humility and always being willing to question yourself. I’m thankful for the seminarian’s challenge,
but when you have lived through the experience of the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, you cannot be convinced that it is counterfeit.
Copyright © 2017. Deborah R Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Post a Comment