Our Father Comes Alongside
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25, NKJV
The Greek word for “comforter” is parakletos, which literally means one called alongside to help. This was beautifully illustrated in the 1992 Summer Olympics during a track-and-field event. As the runners in the 400-meter race flew around the oval track, one of them suddenly pulled up on the back stretch, one leg held up and dangling as he limped to a stop. He had pulled a hamstring! As the crowd stood, holding its collective breath, a man ran out of the stands to the young athlete. It was his father! As the television crew relayed the moving scene to the watching world, the microphones picked up the runner’s words: “Dad, you’ve got to help me across the finish line. I’ve trained all my life for this race.” And so the father put his arm around his son, and together, they limped across the finish line to a standing ovation!
In the race of life, God our heavenly Father has come alongside us through the Person of the Holy Spirit. And when we think we can’t go one more step He puts His everlasting arms around us, and gently walks with us to the finish.