Serving Alongside the Holy Spirit
In Matthew 10, a lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. The answer: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (v.27)
God wants your whole life; He isn't interested in just a part of it. He doesn't just want your Sunday mornings. He wants it all. 24/7, 365 days a year (and 366 on leap years). 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" Don't miss this: the Holy Spirit resides in you Every. Single. Day: That means He is just as present in the boardroom as He is in the Sanctuary.
Serving God with your whole soul means that you don't leave faith at Church; instead, you take it with you everywhere, including work.
So, why does the Holy Spirit reside in you? What is He looking to accomplish? According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is gifted to believers as a counselor, intercessor, teacher, guide, and ultimately, as the very voice of God inside of us. When we consider what it means to love God and our neighbor with all of our soul and spirit, it means looking through the lens of the Holy Spirit.
God knows your neighbor (He created them, you know), and he can tell you a lot about that neighbor through the Holy Spirit.
At work, we are surrounded by lost and hopeless people. Some are bitter, some are angry, some are depressed, and some are desperate. Each of these work neighbors needs to know who you know. Jesus. He is the only answer that will bring them from being lost and hopeless to being found and hopeful.
When we leave our homes to go to work, or you leave your bedroom to walk to your office, the Holy Spirit comes with you. He wants to help you love your neighbors as you go. Our Father created each of them in His image, and as an image-bearer, He wants to be in a relationship with them. Each of your neighbors will learn what a relationship with God looks like from your relationship with them. WOW, now that is a new perspective!
Ask the Holy Spirit what it looks like to love your neighbors this week. Each one may need a special touch, but through Him, you can do it. Our love for them will help them experience the Ultimate Love of our Father in Heaven. That's what Jesus was talking about.
Need some ideas on how to love your neighbor at work this week? Check out iWork4Him’s Daily PowerThought – a one-minute broadcast that challenges today's workplace believers to engage in their workplace mission field!
- Jim