How shall the work continue? How is God working out the healing of the world? When will it be done; when will you and I live consistently in the confidence of our alignment with God; when will the heartaches and chaos be over?
Are we there yet?
When Jesus gave his farewell speech, he knew the disciples listened with increasing worry and fear. How would they know what to do? How would they have the power to do it? Where would they go? What would they say? When would the promised Advocate appear? How would they recognize this Helper?
Jesus reassures, “You will recognize the Spirit because the Spirit will tell my stories. You will know the Spirit’s presence because the Spirit will teach you the same lessons I taught you. What is mine is the Spirit’s and the Father’s. My work is the Spirit’s work and the Father’s work. If you recognize me—standing before you in flesh and blood, breaking bread and sharing wine with you—then you will recognize the Spirit and the Father.”
How shall the work continue? It continues just as it began: by God, in Jesus, and through the Spirit. How will it be done? It will be done by God, in Jesus, through the Spirit. And are we there yet? Friends, we have never left it; even as the work continues, we have always been “there.” We may not always feel it or claim it, but we have never been outside of God’s grace; we have never left our alignment with God. The Spirit continues to declare this truth to us—we are aligned with God— and Jesus continues to teach us the work of aligning ourselves to one another, neighbor and stranger alike. The work continues, but we are here by grace to do it.