"Following the Tug......."

Wednesday Bible class, last night, was a mixture of conversation, the teacher taking us into a study of how the Holy Ghost “influences” our life. For some reason, we were low in number, there being only about a dozen of us there; but the evening in no way fell short in supplying this old man with his favorite pastime: discussing “Christ in me”. In the beginning, when the group was asked as to which came first, regeneration or conversion, I suggested it depended on how each of us individually translated the two terms. Indeed, all too often, what separates us as believers is nothing more than linguistics, a fact well illustrated as we then attempted to define the subject at hand. Most who were present either spoke of their own life having been altered by another’s example or of the struggle that comes with raising children, rejection of authority hindering all efforts to endow them with good habits. To me, however, the topic was one better explained by examining the basic condition of our salvation. Scripture declares we all are spiritually “lit” by God upon entry into this world, that particular portion of us said to be “the candle of the Lord”. The Indwelling, purchased for us via Calvary, is a second flame, two wicks now burning side by side, and our journey now a matter of just how much we will humble ourselves to follow His lead. Raising three girls, I have been the only male presence in my household for nearly five decades. Believe me, my thinking has been adjusted along the way even as it’s a safe bet it is just as true on the other side of the fence. Alterations, however, have been a matter of submitting ourselves, one to the other; and change was effected, not by some dogmatic theology introduced to which we all agreed. Forty-one years ago His reality stepped into my heart, my home, my very existence. “Influence” equates to an umbilical cord anchor-line, extended from Him, providing all things needed in the stumble down the path…..