Nougat 4

Of you could have the most precious gift in all time from God, what would it be? Is it different from what you’d give? Consider today’s Holy Nougat

““But I will send you the Advocate —the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15:26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Somehow, I don’t think the disciples expected that gift. God’s Spirit, as an Advocate is The Gift Jesus was offered amidst the disciples’ confusion, fear and despair. I don’t think they’d even gotten a full grasp of what else Jesus had been saying – first He spoke about vines and fruit; then He switched to the world being ‘Haters’ and then this promise.

It’s like, He saw that they were hardly following His train of thoughts and decided to switch gears. Or that upon the realization that His time was seriously winding down, Jesus was trying to ensure that those disciples got everything. And the everything included :

a) the message that with His departure, they would be blessed with The Gift of God’s Spirit; and

b) the attributes of God’s Spirit.

A) They would NOT be alone

As a trained teacher, I recall being on two seasons of ‘Teaching Practice’, which had two segments: observation and the practicum. For the Observation, we visited classrooms with a master teacher who demonstrated what teaching entailed. We could ask all the questions, take notes, etc. After we’d returned to our lessons for about another full semester, we were sent out for the Practicum. Then, we were assigned one or two different classes and Graded on our skills in imparting knowledge. Although we had the classes to ourselves, a teacher was assigned to us, and gave pointers here and there; offering support as needed. Our lecturers visited during that time and also offered feedback on classroom management and teaching skills. Sometime before the end of the Practicum ended, an external examiner assessed us.

Assuming we were successful in Teaching Practice; we were eligible for teaching upon completing the other classes in the programme. Upon graduating, we were able to get placed in any school that wished to have us. But the thing was – we were totally on our own! No lecturer was with us – it was either sink or swim, and some of us sank like a rock!

The Disciples also had moments of Observation and Practicum. They traveled everywhere with Jesus for about three years. And the Gospels (particularly Luke 9:1-5;10:1-10) indicate that the Disciples had their own Practicum experience. They were approaching graduation; finalizing their courses. And in the middle of their finalizing classes, Jesus the Teacher offered them the Ultimate Gift: the Cheat Sheet of ALL Cheat Sheets; God’s Spirit of Truth!!!!

They would Not be alone. Not one of them had to sink. And neither do we. For we have access to the same Spirit of God, and Unlike the Disciples, God’s Spirit is with us always; not as a memory of one who’s died and who remains in our hearts, but literally within us forever and always.

Now that’s the Ultimate Gift, God’s Spirit packaged by Jesus for us all. A gift to Keep and Share at the same time!

Was that your answer? It’s Gifting Time

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May all we seek be found in Christ