Living in the Spirit
June 15, 2014

  Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’–Matthew 28:16-20

My Dad’s father died suddenly, unexpectedly when my Dad was ten years old. His father had contracted blood poisoning from a boil that a doctor had lanced with an apparently unsterilized instrument.  My grandfather has always been bigger than life to me because he was bigger than life to my father. By all measures he was a successful farmer and businessman and well respected in the community. He died in 1928 and in 1970 or so I met with an older, local attorney about something to do with my work. When he heard my name he asked, if I were related to Emery Knott and I said that he was my grandfather. The lawyer said “Emery Knott was one of the finest men I have ever known.”

My grandfather’s death came at a very bad time in the history of the world but particularly in Oklahoma. Within the next few years after he died, his farms had turned to dust and the top soil had blown away. The entire world was in an economic depression and my father had essentially become the primary bread winner of his family at the age of 12 in a world turned upside down. I cannot image the emotions my Dad experienced losing his Dad, eventually dropping out of school to work, trying to hold things together the best he and his siblings could. I am sure that some mornings when he awoke or some evenings when he fell into bed exhausted, fear and doubt were with him.

The eleven remaining disciples were just as human as my Dad and they, too, experienced the full range of emotions that goes with sudden loss and increased responsibility. But just like my Dad, they had the choice of letting their fears defeat them or using them as catalyst for change. Those eleven men, with the teachings of Jesus fresh in their minds and the power of the Holy Spirit literally changed the world.

God gives us that same opportunity today.

Prayer: Lord, transform our doubts and our fears into energy powering our service to you. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.