How many gifts have you received that you have stored away never to use again? The person who gave you the gift had the best of intentions, but it was so off the mark you didn’t know what to do with it. So you throw it in a closet only to regift or sell at a rummage sale. The world doesn’t understand the gift that has been given to believers in Jesus Christ. They look at it as foolish and useless.
1 Corinthians 2:12
“Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.”
The Path to Understanding
The only way that you can understand the gift that Jesus has given you is by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us that the Spirit would be a helper who would make known all the things of God. If you have a worldly spirit, this will never make sense. The gift of mercy will upset you because there needs to be justice. The gift of grace will boggle your mind because people are worthy of what they are getting.
See with New Eyes
We receive the Holy Spirit when we surrender our lives to Jesus and begin a relationship with him. All of a sudden the things of the world look different and seem foreign. We know the difference between right and wrong more clearly. On top of that, the sense of forgiveness has permeated our heart, and there is a sense of gratitude. Those aren’t available to those who don’t know Jesus.
We are Set Apart
Christians are set apart from the thinking of the World. As we pursue Jesus, our former life will feel distant and foreign. Our old friends won’t recognize us. It is fruitless to try and make someone who doesn’t follow Jesus to understand as long as they have the spirit of the world. Walk in the leading of the Holy Spirit.