Good Morning All,
Luke 17:21; “They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see,
the kingdom of
God is within you.”
We like to play a lot of
games that involve searching for something.
From “Hide and Seek” to board games that involve hidden treasures, we
like to look for things. There aren’t many
people who aren’t fascinated by treasure hunting or wonder about buying a metal
detector and finding some valuable coin or trinket. We are an inquisitive species.
We seek answers to
problems, we seek information for the sake of knowing what was going on. We are always on the lookout for new ideas,
new theories, or new thoughts which make us wonder about tomorrow. We tend to think that we can find the answers
to everything and then solve every problem.
But what happens when we can’t?
What happens when events go unexplained or unanswered? Many people, at this time, decide to blame
God or the people who believe in God.
Do you ever notice, when
there is a catastrophe, people often blame God and then go looking for answers
in all the wrong places? When people
face struggles in their lives, they often seek out answers from any source they
can find. Then they shout out that they
have found the answer, “Here it is!” We
have found the answer to life’s problems; only they haven’t.
But that doesn’t answer
the question that many have and that is “Where is God?” When there is pain, trouble or sadness, where
is God? Have you ever asked, or heard
someone ask that question, “where is God?”
Where was He when the flooding was going on? Where was he when the forest fires were
burning? Where was he when the gunman opened fire? Where is God?
We often struggle with
this because when we read the Bible, we see all the extraordinary times that
God intervened in man’s existence. We
want that type of experience, we want to say, “Here it is.” The thing is that God has chosen not to work
that way. He has chosen to work through
his Church at this time. Jesus empowered
his Church to forgive sins, to preach repentance, to bring reconciliation to
the world; God is in you and has chosen that way to work in the world. So next time we wonder where God is, he is in
us wanting to use us to work his love throughout the world. Maybe we cannot stop everything that is bad
in this world, a sinful and broken creation will exist until Christ will
return, but we can offer God’s grace to one person, right now. It might be your spouse, your child, your
neighbor, or even someone you don’t even know.
God has chosen to dwell
in you and to use you as the method that He touches the world. Next time you think “Where is God?” He is in you seeking to work his love and
grace in this broken world.
Father, we see pain all
around us. Use us as your hands and ears
to deliver your love. Give us the
courage to show that you live in us and we are your people. Give us the wisdom to reach out to those who
hurt the most and give them your grace.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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