S is for Sanctifying

We do not know the wind by seeing. We know of its existence only by feeling it and observing the effects it has on things we can see, such as sails, trees, waters, etc. The same goes for the Holy Spirit -- the "modest" member of the Trinity. We really don't know all that much about her, in fact, we don't even know what his/ her/its gender is! I've chosen to use the feminine because the Hebrew word is feminine. (In Greek it's neuter). True to the nature of wind, we recognize the Holy Wind chiefly by her work, or her effects. Her work, Martin Luther called it her "office," is to make us holy. Therefore you could really call her the Holying Wind. She makes us holy by giving us faith in Jesus Christ, by making us believers. That is how she changes us. And what a change! Faith in Christ is the beginning of new life, a life of hope in God instead of hope (or despair) in self. A life lived in the confidence of grace rather than in fear of the law's retributions. A life brim-full of Christ's grace for us. She so much changes us by giving us holy-ing faith, that we even begin to show it by lives of humility, obedience, service, kindness, generosity and Christian community.