The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:13)
Just outside Chennai, India, a throng of bright-eyed villagers followed us hut to hut. White people were a novelty and everybody wanted a greeting or handshake. In the press around us it was impossible to engage the full beauty of each soul.
A ten-year-old boy in rags cradled a leaf over an O shape made with his finger and thumb. He slapped the leaf and it burst apart with a loud pop. To overcome the language barrier, I motioned for him to teach me his art and he adopted me as his disciple of popping. A bond was forged in that simple moment.
Later, I saw a man, presumably the boy’s Hindu father, pull the lad out of the crowd listening to my gospel presentation. My heart ached with a desire to pour a river of truth into that boy. I prayed the small, wordless interaction between us had been enough for the Holy Spirit to move him toward Christ.
Unlike me, our three in one God is able to have deep encounters with each of his of children though they number in the billions. He longs for the bond that forges when we experience him in the inner person. That’s the grace, love and fellowship Paul prays for in the verse above.
The wonder of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is that it seems so individualized, like I’m the only child in the universe. Only a unimaginably big God who’s name is love can accomplish this feat for the fifty billion souls who have trod this earth.
I was only able to share a thimble of love with the Indian boy, and in the same way I’ve only had trickles of God slip down my throat. Yet a taste of his Spirit is so potent it spreads inside until I’m changed into a new kind of person—one touched by his personal friendship.
Prayer: Beautiful triune God, may your fellowship be with me today.