1 Corinthians 2:11-16 (CEB)

11 Who knows a person’s depths except their own spirit that lives in them? In the same way, no one has known the depths of God except God’s Spirit. 12 We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God. 13 These are the things we are talking about—not with words taught by human wisdom but with words taught by the Spirit—we are interpreting spiritual things to spiritual people. 14 But people who are unspiritual don’t accept the things from God’s Spirit. They are foolishness to them and can’t be understood, because they can only be comprehended in a spiritual way. 15 Spiritual people comprehend everything, but they themselves aren’t understood by anyone. 16 Who has known the mind of the Lord, who will advise him? But we have the mind of Christ.


Reflection

Yesterday’s devotional talked about how the Holy Spirit comes to us like the wind. We may not see the Spirit, but we can hear, feel, and see the Spirit’s divine results. It was Jesus Christ who sent us the Advocate as our guide to the wisdom and knowledge that comes from God. Jesus knew that his disciples would need this support when he could no longer be physically present.  Jesus also knew the world would need support each day, throughout time, particularly when the “unspiritual world (wouldn’t) accept the things from God’s Spirit.”

Day by day we make our recommitment through prayer and thanksgiving to listening for the wisdom of the Spirit. To live in the Spirit requires us to intentionally make decisions as God persuades us. This is not easy! We may not always feel like listening OR we may feel we cannot hear or understand the ways of the Lord. But as St. Paul reminds us, fortunately “we have the mind of Christ,” and we can look back to his actions. Therefore, as surely as Jesus encouraged his followers to look for the Holy Spirit, I think the Holy Spirit still points us back toward the works of Jesus as examples of how we are to love the world. So day by day we live our Christian faith through reading God’s Word, listening for the heart of God through the Holy Spirit, and loving as Christ loves us.

It may all sound cyclical, but I think it is also what confirms the Trinity.  Whenever the Trinity befuddles me, I try to remember that it is the Holy Mystery that I will never fully understand.  When I question my understanding, I try to remember that children are connected to the heart of God and therefore I can be too. When I question my motives, I return to this encouraging verse 16, “But we have the mind of Christ.” Therefore, day by day, let the Holy Spirit be our timeless connection to Jesus Christ’s loving ways: yesterday, today and tomorrow.

By Barbara Carlson


For Pondering & Prayer

I think most of us have trouble understanding the Trinity. (Yes, it is okay to question the nature of God!) What are your thoughts and beliefs about our God, the Three-in-One?  Remember that each and every day children connect to this Holy Mystery. Try to remember that despite our limitations in understanding, God’s words timelessly connect us in all things. Therefore, when in doubt, ask God to help you connect through the Spirit to Jesus Christ’s loving ways of interacting with the world.

Day by Day - a Prayer
Day by day, dear Lord of Thee
Three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly,
To love Thee more dearly,
To follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
- St. Richard of Chichester, England, 1197-1253