As with so many stories in the Bible, it’s easy to read about Pentecost through a passive lens. But the purpose of Pentecost is anything but that. We are to engage in that upper room moment every bit as much today as the disciples who were physically there. It is not a story for entertainment or even the Christian explanation for God’s presence manifest on this earth long after Jesus’s ascension into heaven. Rather, it is a marked moment when the thin veil between the Kingdom above and our earth here below tore open as God’s Spirit began its sweep in and through humanity. It was a divine domino still in motion to this day. And we are not only invited, He implores, He asks that we join.

True Pentecost spreads across community, but for it to occur at all, it must take place within the individual. And it is as available and essential today as it was two thousand years ago. A personal Pentecost is where the greater Gospel movement began and how it sustains. The message of Pentecost is both transformation and invitation. Transformation, not to simply be a better version of ourselves, but a whole new being entirely. Invitation to a free life, although not to be mistaken for easy.

Let’s re-learn how we look at the story of Pentecost in Acts 2. It is personal. It is applicable. And above all, it calls each of us as individuals to engage and to act.

Commit to re-reading Pentecost in Acts 2. But this time, read it from a perspective that is active. It is not just a message for you, but a call to action.