Recently at church I shared the story of our Japanese Maple tree in the church yard. Apparently these trees are supposed to turn this beautiful, bright red colour each autumn. But until this year this particular tree was refusing to do that. The grass of the lawn had grown up around the base of the tree preventing the roots from soaking up the nourishment they need.
About two years ago, Claire set about bringing nourishment to the roots of the tree. She cut back the lawn and began laying mulch…a particularly potent home grown mulch full of worms!
I’d watch Claire doing this most days and also look at the tree and see very little change.
But about a month ago, Kay (a long term dearly loved member of our church and expert gardener) walked past the tree and winked at Claire and said ‘well done!’
It struck me that this is precisely how the Holy Spirit often works in our lives.
Internally, gradually, but powerfully.
As we’ve been working through 2 Corinthians we see this dynamic often. In a nutshell Paul says that the Holy Spirit brings about change when our hearts are affected by the gospel. This is what Paul speaks of when he writes to the Corinthians:
'You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.'
2 Corinthians 3.3
The Holy Spirit is the marker of the new covenant God has established with his people. The old covenant, was not bad, it just served its purpose. The new covenant far surpasses the work of the old covenant in that it takes God’s word deep into the core of our being. God’s powerful, personal presence has now taken up residence in our hearts, applying the work of Jesus into the deepest recesses of our hearts. Remarkble!
Like the transformation that has taken place with the maple tree, the work of the Spirit often goes unnoticed. This seems to me because of where it takes place, in our hearts. So the work of the Spirit is primarily internal. And according to the bible, the heart is the control centre of our lives. You can’t see what is going on in the human heart, but over time you will see the outward affects of what is happening internally.
It follows then, that the work of the Spirit is often a gradual work. Looking at the tree each day I may not notice the change that is taking place in the roots. But when I take a step back and look what that tree has now become compared to what it used to be it’s striking. The same dynamic is often at work in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Because it’s gradual it would be a mistake to assume it’s not powerful. The Spirit’s work in our hearts is so powerful that Paul likens it to a moment of new creation. As powerful as that moment when God spoke the world into being:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ
2 Corinthians 4.6
How have you seen the Spirit gradually, but powerfully, transforming the life of a brother or sister?
I’ve found this to be a helpful question to reflect on as it causes me to take a step back and notice what God has been doing in someone’s heart over time.
Why not reflect on this question, and ask someone to do the same for you.