Much More to Say

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come."
John 16:12&13

When Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples and return to heaven, he spoke these words. The disciples were having difficulty understanding what Jesus was saying. Obviously, they were full of the teaching he had already brought to them. They simply could not comprehend what he was saying when he spoke of the Holy Spirit's coming and his own departure. So he told them that he had "much more to say."  It was obvious to him that they could not bear to receive any more then. The teaching had to be done by the Holy Spirit who would come a short time later.
    This process is still happening today. The Holy Spirit is guiding us into all truth each moment of every day. I happened to read a commentary on John 16 the other day. I rarely do this, but I thought some additional input would be helpful to my study. One commentary said that the "many things" Jesus was referring to, was spoken by the Holy Spirit, but that it ended after the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation. It went on to say that the Holy Spirit does still speak to us today, but it is very limited compared to the days of the first apostles. Let me respond to this as succinctly as possible: Hogwash! The same Holy Spirit who would indwell the apostles now lives in us. He is still speaking to us as surely as he spoke to the early church. If we believe this narrow view, what adventure is there in being a Christian? This theology funnels our Christianity into an arena in which we simply live, die, and then go to heaven. I hear from the Holy Spirit every day, and so do you. He speaks to us, guides us, leads us, teaches us, and calls us to do what the Father asks. He brings eternal value to our earthly lives. He keeps it intensely interesting.
    I refuse to live my life in a mundane form of Christianity. My Christian life is active every moment. I am in a continual relationship with God and it is facilitated by the Holy Spirit who lives in me, and makes known the will of the Father to me. Jesus has much, much more to speak to me and he is speaking through the One who dwells in me.
    I love the truth that God will not give us more than we can bear. When he speaks, he directs us to be who we were created to be within the limits of our humanity. He will never ask us to do more than we can do, given our level of understanding. He will challenge us, but he is patient. When we are ready to move on, he guides us into new, greater things.  Live as one who is sitting at the feet of Jesus, taking in all that he is saying. In reality, that is happening right now if you are paying attention. Get used to the process and focus on the eternal things you are being taught. Jesus didn't stop speaking when he went back to heaven. He didn't stop when the first apostles died. No, he has "much more to say," and he is talking to you.