“And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men” (Mark 6:42-43 ESV).
Some studies suggest that women speak more words in a day than men and the order of magnitude of the difference is staggering; other studies conclude that to be hogwash. Whatever the empirical truth, in my house, with four young daughters and a wife all having a lot to say, I know my daily word count is dwarfed, and the order of magnitude of the difference is staggering. But even when the clamor is overwhelming, it is not unwelcome, for it resounds with love.
While my spoken words at home are few, the voice in my mind, the inner, hidden part of me that is truly me, keeps up a constant dialogue of thoughts and feelings. Yak, yak, yak, my mind is seldom still or silent. But through my inner voice, I believe the Holy Spirit works to mold me more into the person God wants me to be: when my thoughts are dark, my inner voice chides me and uplifts me; if I am standing too long on the sidelines, my inner voice prods me to take action; if I am wounded or have wounded another, I hear a call towards grace.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a central tenet of our Christian faith, and His work is important, for it is ever directed towards the purposes of God. Wisdom, knowledge, discernment all derive from the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all flow as fruit in our lives from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23a).
God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent—He is everywhere at once. That means the Spirit in you is in every other Christian believer. Moreover, the Spirit is also at work in the lives of the unsaved, too.
With that in mind, I was thinking about the concept of six degrees of separation the other day (the idea that any person is no more than six first-name introductions away from meeting any other person in the world that they would like to meet). A friend of mine told me the idea originated in the late 1960’s with Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist. I’ve experienced enough “it’s a small world” events to believe the theory. For example, next week I am having a business dinner with a person I first met a month ago at a conference in Scottsdale. As we finalized arrangements I learned unbeknownst to either of us that we have a mutual friend who lives in Chicago—but I live in Louisiana and my new business acquaintance lives in Denver. It is a small world.
The reason I was thinking about six degrees of separation is how it applies to our Christian life. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and calls us to Christ, and that is one degree of separation. But we share in the work of the Spirit by living quiet lives that inspire others, by caring for those who are hurting, and by offering a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name. When we are active in this type of evangelism, we become the other degrees of separation.
So the next time you are in a conversation with another person, reflect for a moment about the omnipresence of the Spirit. While you cannot know what the other person is truly thinking or feeling any more than they can you, the Holy Spirit knows you both intimately. Who knows, the Spirit may be using you to move the other person one degree closer to Christ. If they are already believers, perhaps there is a message they need to hear that only you can say. And if they are not saved, perhaps you will be the final degree of separation that saves their life for eternity.
Jesus fed five thousand men with a few loaves and fish. That was a remarkable miracle. When the Holy Spirit uses us to call others to Christ, we are suddenly part of a greater miracle—we are feeding them the bread of life.