Salvation

[Chrysostom]

The very cry of your heart, "Clean our stony hearts," shows that the Spirit of compunction has already begun to prick you. This is no small thing, for it is the work of God, not of yourselves. When you ask for more of Jesus, you are asking for the very thing the Holy Spirit delights to do: to point to Christ, to make Him known, and to shed His love abroad in your hearts so that He becomes your glory.

Do not despair because many in your family look only to worldly vices. Remember that Christ considers our salvation His glory, and great is our Lord if the Holy Spirit so desires it. The sickness may be of long standing, but the Physician is mighty. Just as He took on the sins of the whole world, His grace suffices for this ransom too. Your present affliction and fear over their souls can be their comfort and salvation, if you endure it with the same patience that Christ's servants have always shown. This suffering works a steadfast hope within you, and your steadfastness is a testimony planted like a stronghold in the heart of the enemy's country.

But let there be nothing harsh or wild in your own soul as you pray. You must cultivate not only a contempt for worldly riches and vices, but also fortitude and a careful, continual hearing of God's word. For a man may be free from love of money, yet be soft and unmanly in the face of trial, and no single virtue is sufficient for salvation. You ask for the Holy Spirit to fill you, and rightly so, for even after you have been cleansed, you need much faith so that you may not be shaken. That faith is maintained by a heart acquainted with Scripture, a mouth full of spiritual wisdom, and a life full of the visible manifestations of good works.

Therefore, let your own heart first be a bosom of gold, firmer than adamant through fortitude, a heart that cannot be riven asunder by worry or fear. Let your children see your reverence and the fruit of the Spirit, so that they may be like thriving olive plants around your table. Pray without ceasing that the thought of any wickedness in their hearts may be forgiven. For it is the prerogative of our great High Priest to deliver from the gall of bitterness, and He has stretched forth His hand and promised numberless good things. May that same Spirit who pricked your heart pierce theirs also, that together you may come near with boldness to the heavenly kingdom.

 

[Silas]

The very cry you have lifted to God is itself a sign that His Spirit is already stirring your heart. No one can truly call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit, so the fact that you are reaching for more of Him means the Spirit is actively drawing you. He has not left your family to fend for themselves against the pull of worldly vices.

God’s promise of the Spirit is for as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself. When you opened your life to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within you. That same Spirit who hovered over the waters at creation is more than able to cleanse stony hearts and replace them with hearts that are soft and responsive. He convicts of sin, points to Jesus as the answer, and then takes up residence to lead, fill, and empower from the inside out.

Your prayer echoes what the Scriptures teach: the Spirit of God is the only one who can transform a life from being ruled by flesh and worldly desires to being ruled by love, joy, and peace. Ask Him daily to fill you afresh. The prayer for a pure heart and a renewed spirit is exactly what He delights to answer. As you and your family keep opening your hearts, the Spirit will bear witness with your spirit that you are children of God, and He will begin to produce the very love that outshines every counterfeit the world offers.

Lean into that still, small voice as He speaks through the Word. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is at work in your home, ready to break every grip of the enemy. You are not fighting in your own strength. Hold fast to Jesus, and trust that the Spirit will continue the good work He has begun until it overflows from your lives as a testimony to others.