Receive My Spirit Back

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

~Luke 23:46 (NIV).

The moment in a person’s life that the Spirit is made known and power is drawn from it is the moment an eternally important transaction is made—precisely to the tune of the words Jesus is saying above, notwithstanding theological red herrings.

From the old life to the new, the intent of the new believer is muttered: ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’; for the old life has now become deceased.

Once this holy transaction in the Spiritual realm is made, once the person partaking of the Spirit has devoted their lives wholeheartedly to God, fresh power is made available—a mighty power that no one can understand. It is just experienced and explored toward an unfolding of mighty revelation (potentially) over the remainder of the new life in Christ.

In effect, the person who’s made the commitment is saying to God, ‘Receive my spirit back,’ for it was God’s in the first place.

The untenable thing is it is and always was God’s—before physical birth into the world, throughout the physical life, and then beyond into eternity—with Christ or without. It’s only when we become saved into the kingdom of God that it becomes patently real to us that we’re God’s property; always were and always will be—regardless of spiritual conviction.

And yet, such is God’s interminable love for us he wishes for us to make the choice for him; he forces himself, from the saving context at least, on no one.

That moment I cast myself at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, calling upon him in honest sorrowful repentance and thankfulness, his Spirit revived me spiritually—and enlightened me in every other way with accord to truth, power, spiritual wisdom and his all-consuming grace.

How incredible is God that he opens the gates to the vastness of his unparalleled kingdom, when we call out our wholly-repentant ‘Open Sesame’s,’ throwing them open willingly toward us, showering us with his glorious light! It is an ‘ACCESS ALL AREAS’ pass and the only limitation on us to this kingdom of truth, power, spiritual wisdom and grace is our own process of discipleship.

We can only partake of that which we’re ready for.

And here’s the good news. Nothing of God is rushing us. We’re living a self-paced journey of growth and all he seeks from us is that we grow according with his will at any given time.

Handing our spirits back to God willingly is the commencement of the process of realising this new life—a life that cannot remain as it was or is.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.