It’s 2017. I was a year out of college, and I was a month in of deciding that I’ll be a social worker. I was sitting on my bed, in that tiny apartment I shared with a friend, and reading a book that my granddad had written back in 1998. I was expecting a message that Granddad was with the Lord. So, I read his life story to hear his voice one last time. 

Near the end of the autobiography section, Granddad wrote a list titled “Some things that I have learned while serving the Lord in and through His churches and schools.” I know, long title. If you want, I can make this post’s title uber-long and super descriptive.  

I read the last bullet. – “Never ever forget what the real Biblical purpose and assignment is of the church. See Acts 1:8 when in doubt. Always understand that the church is not there to entertain or make a person “feel good” when they leave.” 

As I read that bullet, I received the message that he was Home with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And I just smiled, because he lived his life according to Acts 1:8. If I believed that something or someone can be quintessential, I would say that Granddad was the quintessential example of a good Christian man. He was outgoing and extroverted. He was disciplined; his Bible and prayer list were out every day at six in the morning. He went out into his community and his church, witnessing the Lord’s name. He opened his home to people, one of my last weekend stays with him included fellowship with a Spanish-speaking church in his living room.   

But he was a man who teased. I know, if he could read this, he would rebuke me for calling him “quintessential.” He would say how he is sinful, flawed, impatient, etc. I would agree. That’s why I am not saying he is quintessential, but he was a Christian with knowledge and wisdom and a good example for me. But not The Example.  

The Father is our Creator and Provider. The Son is our Savior and Redeemer. Who is the Holy Spirit? I have always seen the Holy Spirit as the active presence of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit’s role is to guide, to empower, to sanctify, and to discern. The Holy Spirit is co-eternal and co-equal to the Father and Son, but it works quietly and quiet is not a bad thing. I mentioned the personality of my grandfather, well his wife (my grandma) was the opposite. She was quiet and introverted, she mainly enjoyed writing letters and praying for others. But, like her husband, she, too, was a wonderful example of what it means to walk with Christ. Which is good for me, because I am more like my grandma. I much rather write letters and pray for others, than go up to a random person on the street and say, “Do you know Jesus, our Lord and Savior?”  

Let’s go back to Acts 1:8: 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

That verse is often attributed to commissioning missionaries. My church has a good college student population, which means we send out missionaries. We also have full-time missionaries we support, but we see them every couple of years when they are in furlough. But with college students, we regularly send them out into the world for summer, Christmas, and spring break mission trips. When we do so, we lay hands and pray. Typically, I will go up and I will pray, I may or may not lay hands. It depends on who the person is, but I will pray, and I will generally pray Acts 1:8. 

I will pray that the college student will be open to receiving the Holy Spirit and that they will be a witness. I pray for protection and for wisdom and guidance. Protection from the Father, wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit, and the truth from the Son. Although I think that prayer is a good prayer, I think it paints an unfair picture of the Holy Spirit. It paints the Holy Spirit as this quiet, meek eternal being who stays hidden until something great [edit, big] happens.  

Quiet does not mean an absence of sound or little noise. It can be becoming calm or still, letting things be done in secret or discreetly. Meekness is another word that is often seen as timidity and shyness. But meekness is also gentleness too, as well as one who is meek has a humble and teachable spirit.  

Take Matthew 5:5 for instance, Jesus during the sermon on the mountain said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” Jesus did not say, “The meek shall speak! The meek shall not be afraid!” No instead He valued the meek’s quiet nature, He saw that those who are meek sees things that others might miss. There is a reason why some people are more extroverted and others are more introverted. People have different strengths and weaknesses, and there is value in both.  

The Holy Spirit is quieter than the Father and the Son. But the Holy Spirit is not less than. The Holy Spirit is equal.  

The Holy Spirit does not only show up when we need power. The Holy Spirit is working through every day, every second and hour. The Spirit is there when you are on a mission trip, and you are witnessing explicitly to someone. The Spirit is also in the implicit moments. Such as in work and how you treat your colleagues, employees, or customers. The Spirit is there when you are running errands. The Spirit is there when you are with friends, both believers and non-believers, and you are deciding on what activity to partake in. The Spirit is there when you are on a first date, and it is there in every relationship and in every date. The Spirit is always at work and is always active.

Yes, the Spirit can get loud, and those moments are powerful. When you are standing somewhere and you feel something burning inside. Those moments stand out, but so do the moments in-between those. 

To end this, I will go back to the second part of what my granddad wrote in his book and relate it to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides, empowers, discerns us in doing what is right. The Holy Spirit helps witness to others in all waking moments. But sometimes those guidance and discernments hurt. Sometimes they do not feel good, sometimes when we are still and the Spirit speaks to us, it is painful. I know, I know, I’ve been there. I wish I could say, “Nope, I’ve never been convicted by the Spirit.” But that’d be lying. I have and it is never fun, but it is good for me. It restores my soul when the Holy Spirit gently (or not-so gently) reprimands me.  

Every loud moment and the quiet moments in-between are important. 

The Father is our Creator and Provider. The Son is our Redeemer and Savior. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Guide. 

Elizabeth