When I was in college I was able to visit Europe and experience the beauty of so many places. None was quite as breath-taking as seeing the Alps in Bavaria. Standing at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, once I caught my breath, I remembered the beauty of the Alps and I thought of a verse in Luke 19: "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." The magnificence of the Grand Canyon made me wonder who wasn’t doing their job?
I thought about this again this week as I witnessed the emergence of the spring flowers and the greening of the grass. Am I going to allow the earth to sing praise to the Creator alone, or will I join the chorus?
Today is Palm Sunday. The observance of this day confused me as a child. It reminded me of a scary movie. Do you remember how the “stars” would inevitably go into the dark basement where the monster was waiting to spring out and attack them? You would be sitting in your chair yelling at the TV trying to warn them of their doom, “Don’t go in the basement!” But they always did. As a child, I wanted to yell at the silent Savior, “Don’t go into Jerusalem. They’re going to kill you!” But he always went.
Today, I’m thankful that Jesus knew the Father’s plan and even though he will wrestle with it in the Garden, he goes anyway. Today, as I read the story, I was struck by two things: the fickleness of the crowd and my responsibility to praise—even when I don’t fully get it.
The people were enamored with Jesus because he fed them and healed them. The colt he road into Jerusalem on wasn’t quite the white steed of the conquering hero, but somehow they sensed his importance and they lauded him as he went by. This guy was really going to make a difference. They just didn’t realize how much. Unfortunately, under pressure later in the week, many of the cheers were changed to curses. The fickle crowd switched teams. Their cheers seemed to follow whoever was winning.
I don’t want to be fickle. I don’t want to praise just when I’m overwhelmed by his amazing love like I was overwhelmed by the Canyon. I want to praise him in everything. That’s what Paul suggested and Peterson makes it so clear in The Message: 4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! (Philippians 4:4-5)
That also means I will praise him even when I don’t get it. The devastating reversals of loss, either of health, wealth, or well-being, will not deter my praise. Just because I don’t understand, doesn’t mean God isn’t in control. The rocks are not going to do my job. How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment