HOW A STORE IN MALIBU AND AN EASTER WEEK BIBLE STUDY COMBINED TO SHOW ME GOD

A couple of weeks ago, my son, John, his son, Wylder and their dog, Indy and I were in a Malibu shopping center when the name of a store there caught my eye. It’s sign read, “Res Ipsa.” As a lawyer, I immediately recognized this term as a shortened version of the Latin legal concept, Res Ipsa Loquitur.” Every first year law student could tell you that the meaning is, “The thing speaks for itself.” In the law, it is a doctrine that can establish a presumption of negligence in certain personal injury cases, the details of which are not important to this blog. What is critical to what I’m writing today is the general meaning of “the thing speaking for itself.”

Wait, you may be asking yourself – isn’t this blog about religious/spiritual subjects and not the intricacies of Latin legal terms? You are 100% correct but it’s been my experience that God can use a simple connection between a store in Malibu and His word in Scripture to make a profound point that will be unforgettable because of the counter-intuitive association between the two.

Allow me to explain. Last week, during Holy Week, my friend, Michael Canale, and I undertook an in-depth Biblical study of each day of this week leading up to Easter. In so doing, we stayed almost exclusively in The Message Bible translation. The inspired genius of its translator, Eugene Peterson, brought us to a number of verses where Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as our “Friend:”

“It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.” (John 16:7)

“The Friend, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you.” (John 14:26)

“But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is.” (John 16:13)

Among other verses, Jesus sets forth unequivocally here that the central identification of the Holy Spirit in our lives is as our Friend. We are all well aware that a friend, as defined in a secular sense, is a very good and loyal companion. But, if this signifies closeness and, of course, it does, the Friend Jesus speaks of takes this to a whole other level. This Friend actually dwells in us, making us the temple for Him. There can be no greater friendship, no more profound intimacy.

Holy Spirit – Friend; the two are interchangeable. The term Holy Spirit can sometimes be confusing as to His role in our lives. Not so, however, as to Jesus referring to him as our Friend. We instantly understand who He is to us. Therefore, Res Ipsa Loquitur, this fact that He, The Holy Spirit, is our ultimate Friend, our best and closest Friend, “this thing speaks for itself.”

Can the Holy Spirit or Friend take a storefront in Malibu and a Holy Week Bible study, connect them and then make a point that evolves into a blog? I believe He just did. When the Friend “takes you by the hand snd guides you into all truth,” don’t limit yourself to what you think should be “religious.” Instead, let your Friend who is mysteriously ubiquitous and yet in you, take you to Truth wherever and however He, in His wisdom chooses – even a store’s name in Malibu!

My friend, your Friend will surprise and intrigue you in his methodology. Res Ipsa Loquitur – “ the thing speaks for itself.”