Another Comforter

This poem expresses something I have been wanting to say for a while now - that the Holy Spirit is more than just celestial leftovers or a flashlight in Jesus' hands; He is the Spirit of Christ, the manifest Presence of God within us, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. The poem places the reader in the place of one of the disciples to consider what it must have been like to actually know Jesus and be with Him, and then hear that He was going away. Then Jesus said "it is expedient for you that I go away" and that He would send another Comforter to be with them forever. That must not have made any sense to them - that it was good that this wonderful, unique Son of God would leave them - until the Holy Spirit came and they knew - they knew - that He had come to them again.

Imagine if you’d walked with the disciples of the Lord
And been one of the twelve, and heard his every word;
He’d spoke to you and said “Now, come and follow me;”
You’d dropped your nets and left, knowing not what was to be.

Because you felt in him such promise and such truth,
You’d give him all you had – your strength, your love, your youth.
You’d heard that awesome voice that created everything
And created within you the strength to love and serve this king.

His words were right and true and you could count on what he said;
His words could calm the sea, heal the sick, and raise the dead.
His voice was like the sound of many waters’ flow,
Like an eagle on the wing, like the morning breezes blow.

You’d looked into those eyes with their penetrating gaze
That looked into your soul and saw all of your days,
Eyes not to condemn, but that brimmed with friendship’s trust,
Eyes that spoke of things that were pure and true and just.

And you had felt the touch of his hand upon your arm
To guide you and protect you and to keep you safe from harm;
With his arm around your shoulders as you journeyed and you trod,
As he walked along beside you, you felt the touch of God.

You didn’t understand all the things that he had said –
How he’d die upon a cross and then rise up from the dead;
But you kept them in your heart for you knew that they could be,
For anything could happen with this man from Galilee.

He believed in you when no one else would do the same;
He spoke of things above, not of fortune or of fame.
The Kingdom of the Lord was his one recurring theme,
And you believed it come, or could – or so it seemed

Until one day he told you that he’d have to go away;
Your world fell all apart – you felt a castaway.
For he was your best friend – no one else could take his place –
No one else held such a promise, or such glory, or such grace.

But he said that he would send another Comforter,
One just like the first; he’d be with you, as it were.
For the Spirit that would come would be in every sense the same;
He was going to the Father and would send Him in His name.


But when it came to pass – when they nailed him to the tree –
You had fled like all the rest; it seemed such irony
That such promise and such truth could be cut down so soon,
That the bright star of the morning could be darkened before noon.

Then he arose and for a while it was just as it had been –
You were back, you band of brothers; could it be that way again?
But when he had ascended you again were left alone,
But you waited as he told you, with a hope more than your own.

And on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came
Just as he had promised, with sound of wind and fire of flame.
And the Christ that walked beside you now lived in you and you knew
He’d come back to you forever, he’d not abandoned you.

And you could tell the world of this lovely Son of God,
For he was with you and was in you, and with every step you trod
His words, his strength, his power flowed like blood within your veins;
The Christ was your companion and you conquered in his name.

And so it is today for every blood-bought child of God - You’re not abandoned, not alone, as you dwell on common sod,
For the Christ who called and claimed you and who gave you life anew
In this blessed Holy Spirit again lives his life in you.

It’s him! It’s not another; you’re not orphaned, not alone!
His Spirit lives within and he has made your heart his home.
Fling wide the gates and ope’ the doors and let the Spirit flow.
He’s come to you forever – let the winds of heaven blow.