Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Possible Reaction Ahead
A man who really loved his pet cat left the cat with a trusted friend and took a trip to Europe. A few days later the man on the trip received a phone call from the friend who was watching the cat. "Your cat died," the friend said. "What!" the man reacted in exasperation. "My cat died! You just call me up and tell me my cat died? You could have at least prepared me for it. You could have first sent me a telegram saying, 'Your cat is on the roof.' Then you could call and tell me, 'Your cat fell off the roof,' and then you could call me again and say, 'Your cat died.' But noooo, you just call me up and say my cat died?" The man didn't know how to answer so they just hung up. A few days later the man in Europe received a telegram which said: "Your mother's on the roof." We all almost automatically react negatively to bad news. We also tend to react negatively to developments that run contrary to our wishes and desires. A reaction is "an emotional, intellectual, or physical response to something that arouses." When our team wins we are exuberant. When it loses we are dejected. So we exhibit different responses and reactions to different stimuli. How do we react when things don't go our way in our daily commute? How do we react when things don't go our way at home? How do we react when things don't go our way at church? Usually we react negatively when we have certain perceived rights or expectations. The key to tranquility is to give up our rights and not to have any expectations; then we won't be disappointed or upset. Jesus taught many things that seemed controversial to the people of his day. Sometimes his message seems not to fit our preconceived ideas about God or about God's character or his expectations for us. We must release our preconceived notions about God and allow him to show us who he really is. We must release our normal expectations concerning prayer and worship and open our minds to new yet biblical possibilities. Jesus accused the Pharisees of false worship. He said, " In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. . . You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition (Mark 7:6-9)." So the next time that you read something in the Bible that goes contrary to your expectations about God, don't act as if no one warned you to be prepared for God's mind-blowing, radical ways. It's very possible that your expectations concerning prayer and worship may be on the roof! Preparing you for a possible reaction, Pastor Steve
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