Luke 1 -- Miracles in our time

Sometimes I forget that Gabriel's  conversation with Zechariah was the first time in over 500 years that anyone had heard any message from God.  How humbling and amazing that must have been!   To be the person whom God chose to break the silence that had existed for generations.  

And then there's Mary,  who also gets a message from God.   So we've gone from absolute silence over hundreds of years  to two messages in the span of a few months.  

I wonder what Zechariah and Mary had considered faith before these moments.   Did they truly believe in the history of their people?   Did they simply follow their traditions and customs because they knew no other way?   Maybe it was a mixture of wanting to believe and being too afraid not to.  Regardless,  imagine the wonder and relief it must have  been to have their belief validated.  In those moments,  desperate faith became revealed truth.   What they prayed was true was suddenly made verifiable.  Abstract became concrete.   Stories became history.   The unexplainable became reality. 

I wish we could have experiences like that today.  I wish that we,  as a people of God,  could experience God in such a tangible way that all doubt could be removed.   I wish that,  in one moment,  faith could be replaced by experience,  and that we could say that we have truly heard the voice of God.   I wonder if Zechariah and Mary truly understood the rarity of their experiences, and just how blessed they really were.

God, in these uncertain times,  I humbly ask that you make yourself real to us in the way that these two people understood.   Be to us more than an exercise in philosophy or a simple part of our heritage.  And, if and when you do, please open our eyes and our hearts and our minds so that we can recognize it.

Keep Soaring,

B

Mary and Martha

I woke this morning with the story of Mary and Martha on my mind.  Often times we fault Martha for not sitting at Jesus' feet where Mary was.  She was "too busy" to listen to Jesus.

But in the same breath we talk about the importance of "doing the Lord's work."  And it's considered a compliment to have a servant's heart (unless you're Tim Hawkins).  ;-)

I think Martha's problem wasn't that she was busy serving others.  Jesus didn't have a problem with her until she fussed at Mary for not doing what she was.  Martha's problem is that she expected Mary's act of worship to be the same as hers.  Just because Mary wasn't worshipping the same way as Martha,  that didn't make her worship wrong.

Sometimes what God expects of one is not the same as what He expects of another.  We do our brothers and sisters a disservice if we expect their journey of faith to match our own.  We're not all the same.  And we would do well to remember that.

Keep soaring,

B

Standing in the boat...

I've been very absent when it comes to all things church for the past few years.  My time in East Texas had left a sour taste in my mouth for it, and it has lingered for so long that even the good things I've found haven't tasted quite right.  So, I've been that guy, the one who is wholly dedicated to warming seats on Sunday and doing nothing else.

But I see my son, asking harder and harder questions as his mind begins to understand life and death.   I see my wife, constantly pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone because her faith moves her to action.  I see my family longing for God in ways they haven't in years.  And here I sit, dedicated to warming the chair.  Because poor pitiful me got burned.

I'm not saying that what happened didn't hurt. But I am saying that I've had enough time to grieve.  If there's still a bad taste,  it's because I haven't washed my mouth out.   It's time that I did.

I've been standing in this boat long enough.   It's time to try to walk on water.   And if I sink. ..well at least I sank trying.

Thanks,  Matt, for the prodding.   Thanks,  Mandy,  for understanding.

Keep Soaring,

B