~ Expectant Living

This weekend just gone we gave Sue a surprise party. When I say we, it really was the kids who organised it and all I did was to get her there. Now Sue was not entirely in the dark. She knew there was going to be a party and that the kids were doing all the organizing. She also knew that I was out of the loop, or thought I was. Where this worked a treat was by the device of a little misinformation. She thought it was to be next weekend and a little coincidental event by which we got her to the party venue on time and unawares.
The above was an anecdote with parallels in the Christian environment. In the Bible there is s fair amount of information about the end of time that can be used to create a date for the end of the age and the return of the Master in glory. My father as I remember it had a theory that was based on the end of World War 2 when the Jews “regained” the Promise Land as their home. The fact that I am writing this means that idea was incorrect, because if it had been, we the believers in Jesus would be well and truly home.
I do not write this to ridicule anyone, people have been doing what my father did since the earliest of days, and even some of the New Testament letters were written to counter such suggestions. I write from the other perspective that we live our lives as if today was the last, and I am confident that when God does move we will know about it immediately: and not just about the end of the era for that matter.
To return to the party, it worked because Sue was convinced that it was next weekend, and also because I could drive her 200 Km, to the place of the party, because there was an event on the following morning that we were to go to. We drove into the venue car park without a question until a familiar car; her own, was spotted then the jig was almost up, familiar faces out of place sealed it.
Now this also has its spiritual parallels. We can be so focussed on the things and people in our life that we can miss what is on the periphery. I said just before that when God acts we will know about. The corollary of this is that we are also capable of seeing that action as being other than God. We need to stay aware of the parts of our lives that are peripheral to our normal experience; God can introduce a new part to your life by having it off to the side as easily as standing it up in your face.
Be on your guard, be sensitive to the movement of Holy Spirit in your life, and be ready to move to the beat of God’s heart. These are the sort of words that Paul of Tarsus wrote to the churches of the Roman world for he knew the extent that we can be seduced by the environment in which we live and how easy it was to get into trouble with authorities. He also said to buckle up and stand firm in your faith knowing that this was the greatest investment any man or woman could make in their lives.
A simple party, that opened up a whole raft of God thoughts and applications. I know Sue enjoyed herself immensely even though she was entirely deceived, I would say it was the best weekend that she has had for a long time. This is the promise of God too that if we are plugged in to Him fully He will fill our days with love and meaning.