In the Lutheran Church—Pentecost kind of seems like a minor holiday. It is not as important as Easter or Christmas, but it should be remembered. It is more on the lines of Epiphany or Reformation Sunday. (If you have no idea what I am talking about, just read on. . .) I am not saying Pentecost isn’t important so much as we treat it like a second tier church holiday.

For the record, I think we should really celebrate AND believe in the promise given at Pentecost. God gives the Holy Spirit to earliest believers and they did some pretty amazing things. Not only were miracles performed but also more importantly (I believe) those earliest Church members experienced a boldness to go tell others about Jesus.

None of this happened under their own power. God gave the Holy Spirit to spur them into a wildly abundant life! It is nothing they could have ever planned for or even imagined, but God knew.

Even when Jesus was preparing to die, he said this, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7 Can you imagine? Jesus is telling the disciples that it is good for him to go away so the Holy Spirit can come. I doubt they felt that way at the time but we all can see what happened when the Holy Spirit was given. There was a divine power that inspired people risk everything to tell others about Jesus.

What does this mean for us? This is not a “what a great story from the past to think about” moment. THIS PROMISE IS FOR US AS WELL! We as followers of Jesus are given the Holy Spirit. The question becomes this: Will we ask for a greater portion of the Spirit or just muddle through?

Life is a struggle, more for some, less for others. There is no doubt about that. Who are we living for? Only you can answer that. God already knows. I have learned that living for myself doesn’t really work out most of the time… ok, all the time. I want what God wants for me. I don’t want to muddle through life. I want God to shine through me and use me for His purposes. I want more of the Holy Spirit so that I can be bold for Jesus.

Pentecost Sunday is the reminder that we too can have that same power to live an abundant life… completely surrendered to Jesus.