If there is any sentiment that has no place in the Christian's heart, it is the sentiment that God owes us something. He owes us nothing. The only title we own free and clear is to our sin. Yet in His sovereign grace, God freely gives us title to the kingdom. So the charge is this; whether God has called you in the morning, or whether He has called you at the eleventh hour, meditate on the fact that the calling itself is an undeserved mercy. In the power of the Holy Spirit, turn thoughts of envy into joy that God has also been pleased to bless your neighbour. "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor. 4:7)

The goal of the gospel is adoption by the Father and union with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the quiet workhorse who applies the gospel to our hearts and puts these benefits in our hand. The Spirit creates life out of dry bones. The Spirit cures spiritual blindness. The Spirit gives us a love for God's Word. And because He is the Holy Spirit, He is always in the business of killing and making alive – killing sin and bringing the fruit of the Spirit to life. This work can cause us considerable pain, but our charge is to ask for more. More of the Spirit means a greater share of the holiness without which we will not see God.