I believe most of us, as followers of Jesus, find a personal relationship with God difficult because he seems so abstract to us. Father God seems distant and too often we lay the template of our earthly father on our heavenly father. For some, that is a wonderful template of love, protection, strength, gentleness, wisdom and so forth. For many others, it is a template of absence, anger, criticism, and inconsistency. That makes the Father difficult to relate to and makes the idea of intimacy with him unreachable.

Jesus is easier. We have records of him in the flesh. We have childhood pictures of Jesus loving little children, carrying a lamb in his arms, and being kind to everyone…a spiritual Mr. Rogers. That works when you need comfort and understanding, but it is a stretch when you need a warrior or a champion on your side who is fiercely loyal to you and wields a sword like a ninja. But that is also who Jesus is – the commander of the armies of heaven.

The Holy Spirit seems even more abstract. I wonder what the apostles were imagining when Jesus kept talking about the counselor, the comforter, and the teacher who would come to them bestowing power for ministry. They could imagine Yaweh as the God on Sinai and the fierce father who brought his people out of Egypt. They had walked with Jesus for three years and spent time with him after his resurrection. But the Spirit was….well… a spirit. He didn’t even have a name we could relate to like Abba or Messiah or Jesus or Elijah or Bob. What do we do with that and how do we develop an intimate relationship with him?

One of the reasons I value Graham Cooke’s writings is that he has an intimate relationship with God – all three aspects of God- and his descriptions help me know them better. Let me share some of his thoughts about the Holy Spirit. It might help you relate to him with more clarity. Cooke says, “I love the Holy Spirit. He is the happiest, most cheerful person I have ever encountered. It’s possible to grieve him, but incredibly difficult. Most of us will never manage it personally. The Godhead dwells in an environment of astonishing, everlasting joy. The Holy Spirit is a delight. He is cheerful, exuberant, and amazingly enthusiastic about us. He loves his role as comforter, tutor, and come alongside friend. He gets to talk about Jesus (whom he adores) and equip us to fellowship with the Father. He is an absolute genius at life, a brilliant mentor who knows everything. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is a powerful advocate and warrior. He is never fazed at circumstances but loves to lift us up to see more from his perspective. He is a gorgeous, amazing paradox. He is recklessly cheerful and incredibly wise. He is full of majesty and yet astonishingly gentle. He is completely and radiantly holy, yet comforts us in our struggles and teaches us the ways of righteousness. He is inspirational, generous, kind, gracious and endlessly patient in redeeming us to live in Christ” (Graham Cooke, Coming into Alignment, p.68-69, Brilliant BookHouse).

I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to know the Spirit better. I may not know what he looks like, but sometimes that’s better because we so often judge a book by its cover rather than its content and, in doing so, fail to become familiar with the book. We can certainly hear his voice and feel his heart towards us. And maybe that is the best way to know him.

We also know him by the fruit of the Spirit that Paul delineated for us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal.5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit is simply his character that he is trying to impart to each of us. Definitely sounds like someone I would like to know. If fact, knowing him will make me want to know the Father and Son in greater ways, as well, because they all share the same character and the same heart for us. Too often I think that God is so serious that I can only come to him in formal prayer, serious, and intense about what I am asking. But no friendship is like that. That are serious moments but there are also lots of chats, jokes, and just doing life together. I think we need more of that in our relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit.

But just for fun, the next time you want to grow your relationship and hear from the Spirit, ask him to tell you about Jesus or the Father. He does love to talk about them and you may be surprised at what he says. Blessings today as you chat with the Spirit.