My wife Tina really loves Christmas. She does a terrific job decorating the house for each holiday, but Christmas gets the most attention.
This year a new tree was delivered in early October. I happened to come into the room where she had opened the box and began putting it together. I laughed. She heard me and then began to make an excuse, “I had to see if all the parts were there.”
We both laughed together, and I said, “keep it up. Let’s make a Halloween Tree out of it.” (This might drive the fundamentalist Baptists crazy right?) But up went the purple and orange lights and various items were hung around the tree.
Then it was Thanksgiving. (My fav. Holiday) But I suggested let’s keep it up all year around. It can be a Valentine’s Day tree; it can be a St. Patty’s tree. It can be the fourth of July tree. I loved my idea. I don’t think we will be doing it though.
Ephesians 5:18 Scripture says, be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is not a command, but it is an encouragement. For the sake of time, I will refer to earlier episodes (Here are links to those episodes 1, 2, 3) where we looked at sanctification (both a onetime AND ongoing event). This is an instance of both present and ongoing sanctification.
You can’t tell in the English; this is where the original language helps. The word and the verb tense – we do not have an English equivalent. The literal reading is, “Be, being filled with the Spirit.”
Be filled, present AND being filled, ongoing. The Spirit’s presence in our lives in what leads us to more holiness (Ezekiel 36:25-27). For believers, the Spirit is always in us.
This time of year, our culture remembers Christ’s birth. It is a date that Scripture does not supply, but I have no problem celebrating it. It is the Apostle Paul who gives us this freedom.
But there is a lot of similarity of Tina’s year around Christmas tree and Ephesians 5:18. The important part of Christmas is not WHEN Jesus was born but THAT Jesus was born. Even more important is that Jesus is born in you (2 Corinthians 13:5). The constant state of Christ be, being in us. Each day of the year.
S-D-G