It has always bewildered me that the passage of scripture in Acts (2:1-12) dealing with the Day of Pentecost and the original outpouring of the Holy Spirit is known more for the manifestation of speaking in tongues than for the miracle of the unity of the language and the clarity of hearing.  When people with different languages from different nations all hear and understand one another as if they were hearing their own language, this is noteworthy!  Yet, this part of the story always seems to take a back seat to people speaking in unknown tongues.  We have focused so much on the expression of the Spirit with the manifestation of speaking with tongues that we have ignored the underlying result of the Spirit's manifestation: UNITY!
 
Seemingly, the Gifts of the Spirit are always esteemed above the Fruits of the Spirit.  This is why healing is celebrated and love is only tolerated.  The Gifts of the Spirit are glamorous, yet temporal.  The Fruits of the Spirit, like kindness and patience and love, may be less flashy, yet they are eternal, powerful and unifying.
 
Gandhi said, "Jesus occupies in my heart . . . the place of one of the greatest teachers who have had a considerable influence on my life.  I shall say to the Hindus that your life will be incomplete unless you reverentially study the teachings of Jesus . . ."
 
Can you imagine a traditional evangelical leader declaring that a Christian's life will not be complete if he does not study Lao Tzu, Gandhi or Buddha? Most congregants lean so heavily upon their preacher's knowledge of truth that the truth they hear Sunday after Sunday never becomes their own.  And preachers know this.  That's why they shield their members from searching, seeking and expanding their minds for themselves. A mind void of its own truth cannot process a sudden influx of foreign truths. Ignorance seeks to protect its place in us . . . and to preserve itself through religion!
 
Insecurity keeps us from ever having security . . . the security of knowing who we are.  Spirit language brings spirit people together.  Doctrines, religions, and the domination of I Know isolate and segregate people.  As we lessen our focus on spiritual manifestation and increase our awareness of spiritual reconciliation, we will connect, and collect, the spirit nature within all peoples.  Spirit calls to spirit.