Several times recently people have written or talked to me about Steve Chalke.  For those unfamiliar with his name he is a prominent Christian personality in the UK and has appeared on the TV giving ‘the Christian viewpoint” on certain matters whilst also being publicly active in relief works of various kinds.  Although a man of some considerable influence and godly example the concern voiced by some revolves around his view of the cross of Christ and the doctrine of the atonement.

Perhaps the title of this musing will scare some readers away.  Certainly it would have been easier to call it MAKING THE HOLY SPIRIT AT HOME, the meaning is more or less the same though the word ‘habituating’ is somewhat more explicit than the word ‘making’ and suits my purpose better.  There is a welter of words connected with the word ‘habituate.’  Here are a few of them, ‘habit’ is used in the sense of clothing or a behavior pattern acquired by repetition, ‘habitation’ is a house or home, ‘habitable’ means a place suitable for living in, ‘habitat’ refers to an area where a plant or an animal normally lives, a place congenial to its growth.

One of the worrying features observable among younger people is the willingness to avoid conflict in the struggle towards an ideal.  Usually, the search for perfection is a feature of early life, and rightly so but we do not see it much today.  This casual attitude spills over into the churches though thankfully there are exceptions, some younger people are prepared to seek diligently the Kingdom of God no matter the cost entailed in the quest to see the elements of God’s holy, glorious rule manifested in the life and worship of their churches.  Perhaps some who are older can recall the early fire as they pursued and longed to be part of a vibrant and holy community of God’s people and to share in its building.