
This letter was written to my father January 19, 2019
Introduction
When I wrote my father every day for the nineteen months preceding his leaving the enemy’s territory, I never knew what direction each letter would take when I started writing each particular day’s letter. This letter, written on January 19, 2019, was inspired by a short story Billy Graham shared in his daily devotional book that we were reading together. Let me share it with you.
“Whenever anyone asks me how I can be so certain about who and what God really is, I am reminded of the story of the little boy who was out flying a kite. It was a fine day for kite flying, the wind was brisk, and large billowy clouds were blowing across the sky. The kite went up and up until it was entirely hidden by the clouds.
‘What are you doing?’ a man asked the little boy.
‘I’m flying a kite,’ he replied.
‘Flying a kite?’ the man said. “How can you be sure? You can’t see the kite.’
‘No,’ said the boy, ‘I can’t see it, but every little while I feel a tug, so I know for sure that it’s there.’”
This little story led me to write my father about the work of the Holy Spirit. For sure, I can’t see Him. So how do I know He’s really there? What’s my proof? I am a scientist by training and true science is all about verifiable reproducible proof. How do I reconcile this inability to “prove” the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit?
This world of the unseen is a difficult one, it is a journey of faith. “Prove it,” the world exclaims. I can’t “prove” my relationship with Father God, I can’t “prove” my redemption through Christ, I can’t prove anything, I just feel the tug of His Love and presence. Anything tugging at your heart lately?
“The Tug of God’s Love”
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:16
Good morning Pops,
I like very much Billy’s story of the little boy flying the kite hidden by the clouds. Very appropriate for our discussion of the Holy Spirit. His tugs on our spirit’s string is so very true, at least for me it is.
The Holy Spirit is probably the most misunderstood of the three aspects of our great hope-giving God. We gravitate quicker to Jesus, the Son and Father God in our attention and understanding. Why? There are probably a million reasons why but one might be that we tend to believe what we can see, even if it is in our mind’s eye. Because of our human experience, by design, we can see in our heart and mind Jesus and Father much easier.
I have an earthly father, you Dad. I can easily personify my heavenly Father because of this. The same with Jesus. The Gospel’s narratives help me visualize Him. Especially because He became flesh and blood. My mind gets that. But the Holy Spirit? I can’t see Him. He is only described as spirit. That is hard for me to touch and see. I say “He” to reference Him, but He most likely is not gender bound, that reference is only given to help us personify Him, something that helps us understand Him.
Because of our very limited senses we do not recognize that most of Father’s creation is in the unseen. This is where the Holy Spirit lives and moves. It is very hard for us to make the leap into this domain. This is why we have a hard time seeing Him, the Holy Spirit, as a real person with a real personality; as Jesus is. He has thoughts and personality just as we do. He operates just like we do, we have been made in His image. He just doesn’t have our physical form (nor does Father, we use the term “Father” as Jesus did to describe His character and personality, that is all.)
Really, of the three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is one we need to be most mindful of and be in tune with. When Jesus left, it was the Holy Spirit that came to stand with us in Jesus’ stead until we go home. It is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus fulfills His promise to us, “I am with you always, until the end of this age.” It is the Holy Spirit that comes to live inside us when we, by faith, cross over the divide of being dead in our sins to the other side of new birth in Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit who is our emissary before the throne of Father in prayer. It is the Holy Spirit who prays for us with words that are so deep that they cannot be uttered. It is the Holy Spirit who “seals” our soul (spirit) until that day when we leave this enemy territory to go home. It is the Holy Spirit that says to the grand liar, Satan, “Hands off!! He/She belongs to Father!” It is the Holy Spirit who “grieves” when we choose the path of the Liar as we live here temporarily. It is the Holy Spirit who makes the other two, Jesus and Father, so real to us. It is the Holy Spirit who pricks and prompts our hearts to provide guidance and clarity in our choices.
He, the Holy Spirit, is so vital to the beautiful life of the believer! Why don’t we know Him better? Why don’t we pursue Him with more passion? Why is He an afterthought when He should be our “go to” thought in all circumstances?

Thank you Holy Spirit for your patience and never changing love. Thank you for your “tugs” on our hearts even though we can’t see you. Come Holy Spirit, fill me full with your realness and joy. Thank for sealing me until I leave this enemy territory and come home to you. Thank you for being with me, always!
”The Holy Spirit alone makes Jesus real, the Holy Spirit alone expounds His Cross, the Holy Spirit alone convicts of sin, the Holy Spirit alone does IN us what Jesus DID for us.” Oswald Chambers
Love you Pops
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