Inattentive
By Peggy Kleckner
"Do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
By Peggy Kleckner
"Do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:18
I was in a Bible study the other night when the teacher was speaking on this text. She used her car as an analogy. Our cars need to be filled up with fuel in order to be useful, in order to fulfill their true purpose. We can’t just fill them up with whatever liquid we want to put in the tank; they must receive that which their engine was designed or created to use. So too with us as Christians, we are to be filled with the Spirit.She went on to speak about what may keep us from being filled. Her first reason was “inattentiveness.” We may not even notice that we are running close to empty.
O.k. she had my attention, or perhaps I should say “He” did. Immediately, I was back in my car on the road to Minnesota with my mother this past summer. What a joyful, delightful time that was. She only visits once a year and we were traveling to my sister’s home. We were driving along enjoying our journey, when she finally spoke up and asked whether I might consider pulling over for gas since my fuel tank was just about resting on E for empty!
Now, you may think that I was just absorbed in our conversation, or perhaps focused on our destination. Truthfully, I was just not in the habit of looking at my gas gauge. I seldom travel far, so therefore I get gas on Fridays. This was not a Friday.
As I giggled at the memory, I wondered how many Christians are used to getting filled on Sundays. Perhaps as a new believer that was enough, but they have grown since then. They may not notice that they are beginning to whine and that their attitude is sputtering. Perhaps they still think they must be spoon-fed by a pastor. Maybe they don’t know that the “Spirit” station is available anywhere and anytime. Maybe, like me, they have been a bit “inattentive” and were too busy to pull over and allow Him to fill them up again! God wants to fill us. We need only to be still enough to hear Him calling us into His Word for refueling.
Have you checked your Spirit gauge lately?
GOING DEEPER:
1. How often do you “fill up”? How much are you being poured out?
2. Do you “fill up” out of routine or do you recognize your need to be filled?
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 23; Mark 6:30-32
Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children - two sons and two stepsons. She is the Co-coordinator of Oakwood’s Wednesday p.m. Bible Study.
