Since the Spirit personally indwells each believer and the community of believers, each and all have a direct personal relationship with God. This means not only that the Spirit has a direct influence on us as individuals and community, but also that our individual and communal choices have a direct personal impact on the Spirit.
The tragedy of sin is ubiquitous, and we are culpable. I have been going through the Advent calendar from Tim Challies. The first week, which I just completed, shone a bright light on humanity's need for the Messiah. It is against this desperate need that we ready ourselves to celebrate the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity, who came to give his life a ransom for many.
Recognize and live mission, truth, and reality. (1) As Christians we must consider why we are still here rather than in heaven. In essence, there is only one thing we can do here that we cannot do in heaven, and that is to expand the kingdom of God by proclaiming the gospel. This is our mission, and it is our responsibility to recognize and to live it out. (2) Truth is truth. It is not flexible. It is not a matter of opinion. We must train ourselves to recognize truth by searching the Scriptures, listening to the Spirit, and thinking alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ, practicing iron sharpens iron. We must live out truth, for anything else is living a lie. (3) There is such a thing as reality. Both material and immaterial substances are real. In their creational design they are good, and, even though stained by humanity's sin, they continue to reflect God's divinity and power.
Contentment in God is richness not scarcity. Being content in God is not settling.
We need help to see one another. I have been reading Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell, and I am finding it very instructive. Apparently humans stink at correctly interpreting face-to-face interactions with those we do not know. I've not finished the book yet, but I am very interested to see his recommendation and how to overcome this. For myself, I know one human who had no problem seeing past the facade, Jesus.
The Spirit--God himself--is our source. Everything about Church, by which I mean the community of those who trust Christ, has its source in the work of the Spirit. Nothing is from ourselves, and everything is from him. When we begin to forget that, we begin to be something other than the body of Christ.
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