Gordon Brownville, in his book “Symbols of the Holy Spirit”, tells about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.  He was the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole, and he was also the first to discover the South Pole. On one of his trips, Amundsen took a homing pigeon with him. When he had finally reached the top of the world, he opened the bird’s cage and set it free. Imagine the delight of Amundsen’s wife, back in Norway, when she looked up from the doorway of her home and saw the pigeon circling in the sky above. No doubt she exclaimed, “He’s alive! My husband is still alive!”

Brownville writes, “so it was when Jesus ascended. He was gone, but the disciples clung to his promise to send them the Holy Spirit. What joy, then, when the dovelike Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. The disciples had with them the continual reminder that Jesus was alive and victorious at the right hand of the Father. This continues to be the Spirit’s message today.”

That’s a wonderful image and a wonderful truth.  It is also the reason that the early church set aside Pentecost as a reason for celebration.  Yes, it is true that Pentecost marks the beginning of the church.  This is no small or insignificant thing.  But Pentecost tells us there would be no church if it had not been for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

In our day and in North American Christian culture, Pentecost as a celebration has been all but forgotten.  And that is not surprising, for I fear that the Holy Spirit has been the forgotten person of the Trinity among many.  I am still amazed at how often I hear Christians referring to the Holy Spirit as “it” rather than “He”.  Furthermore, I am amazed at how little so many of us know about the Holy Spirit.  We might know about the gifts of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit but are unaware of how these things are a part of the wider activities of the Holy Spirit.  How sad that when many modern Christians relate their testimony, they begin with the words, “I made a personal decision to give my life to Jesus.”  They have forgotten that they would never have made that decision had the Holy Spirit not drawn them to Christ in the first place.

It is true that without the Father, we would have no salvation, for He planned our redemption in eternity past.  And without the Son, we would also have no salvation, for without His effecting of the Father’s plan, we would be eternally lost.  But many have forgotten that without the Holy Spirit, the work of Christ would not be effective.  For we would all have ignored the glory of the Cross if the Spirit had not been sent to draw us to Christ.

Furthermore, we would not continue in our walk in Christ, but would relapse into our former life of sin, were not the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin and drawing us back.  No one has the staying power to walk with Christ for the course of a lifetime.  But the Holy Spirit holds us in the love of Christ and gives us the power where we have none.

And so, on this Pentecost, let us remember the work of the Holy Spirit.  We would not be Christians without Him.