73 the Cow, Part Two

The story is told of a strikingly handsome young guy who saw a cow wandering into the road and leaped to the rescue. It's not just a mind-bogglingly compelling story, though. I was the guy and 73 was the cow. I wrote about it last week. (Okay, the "strkingly handsome young" part may be minor embellishment for the sake of keeping the story gripping...)

The twist that I didn't mention was the fact that I was getting over some sort of virus that morning; a punyness I'd had for a couple of days -- sore throat, muscle aches; things for which normal people would go to the doctor. I was sitting in the recliner reading, drinking coffee, and wishing the coffee tasted like it did on a normal day.

When I looked up and saw the cow about to step into the road, my mind worked a quick algebraic sum: a+b+c=d, in which:

a="people drive way too fast on our road"
b="people don't pay attention as they're driving on our road"
c="wandering cows are pretty stupid"
d="someone or something is going to wind up dead or injured"

It was pretty instantaneous, and then it was adrenaline to the rescue, really. Not my sickly-feeling self. When it was all over I realized again that I didn't feel so well.

This, unfortunately, is not a great parallel to being filled with the Spirit, although I assume it's what a lot of us expect. I can only speak from personal experience, so you may or may not find that this applies to you. In former times I didn't immerse myself in the Word, I didn't study or pray regularly, and I don't suppose I really cared to draw nearer to God. Yet in situations where I needed to provide help or "spiritual" advice to someone, I assumed that God would somehow zap me with the Holy Spirit, per Matthew 10:19b-20, "God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

I conveniently paid no attention to the fact that Jesus was talking about His followers being arrested for standing up for Christ and that I was ripping this verse way out of context. I also ignored the fact that there was no way I was filled with the Spirit.

If we expect to be able to offer Spirit-filled, Godly, wise counsel and support to those with whom we come in contact, I submit that there is preparation to be done. There is armor to put on. There is the end of self -- dumping out of our old desires and choosing to truly follow Christ (and following through on that choice). There is adjustment to our lifestyle.

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT)

NOTE: that is not 73 the Cow in the photo above. It's just a funny-looking photo of a cow's face.

Posted in: Christianity, Holy Spirit, Life