We've been studying the issue of living spiritually meaningful lives for some time. God has blessed us with access to His mind in His Word. And the first dimension of a spiritually meaningful life is the assimilation of God's mind. The Bible recounts in Acts chapter 10 the events concerning the apostle Peter and Cornelius. As Peter presented the gospel to Cornelius's family, he told them about Jesus and what characterized His existence on earth. He said this:
Acts 10:37-38 Segond 21 (SG21)
37 You know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. 38 You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
He summarizes and at the same time dissects the life of Jesus. We learn that Jesus had an intimate communion with the Holy Spirit. He was also endowed with extraordinary power by the Holy Spirit. And because of this, he went everywhere doing good. He devoted his entire existence on earth to one thing: bringing God's goodness into the lives of human beings. And Peter emphasizes that he went everywhere healing all who were oppressed by the devil.
Jesus freed people from captivity, he changed the circumstances of their lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. He did one thing continuously, that was to do good to humanity, and this because God was with him.
Let's do good
The same thing that gave Him the ability to do good also gives us the ability to do good. Why? Because we too are anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus sends out His Church in the same way the Father sent Him. And He sent us out on the same mission and with the same ability. Of course, we have a lesser measure of the power of the Holy Spirit than Jesus had.
So he asked his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they received power from on high. The Holy Spirit came and anointed them. We too receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and are clothed with the Holy Spirit and power. The consequence for us should be the same as for Jesus. We should go everywhere doing good and healing all who need it. It seems to me that this is not actually the goal of many Christians for their lives, including those who say they believe in healing and want to see people healed and set free.
Too often it's an exercise in power, a question of correct doctrine, it's about proving that healing is valid today and that God still heals today. So we go around healing the sick, but not necessarily doing good. We go around doing deliverance, freeing people from captivity, but the motivation is not always the desire to do good.
It is imperative that doing good become our goal again. This was the goal of Jesus, our Master. He went everywhere doing good.
To be able to go everywhere and do good we must want to do good. Share on X
To be able to go around and do good, we must want to do good, and that is where character transformation is necessary. To live spiritually meaningful lives, we must have the desire and passion to do good. So this ability to know God, to know His will, to do His will, and to enforce His will in our generation is what we call a spiritually meaningful life; it requires a transformation of our character, or in other words, holiness, a life of righteousness.
And this is so important, because Jesus did good because of the goodness that resided in Him. And this goodness was released to the people. God wants to transform our character so that we can truly be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Jesus did good because of the goodness that resided in Him. And this goodness was released to the people. Share on X
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