Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Expectations

I know an old Wayne Watson song about expectations.  The idea of the song is a question ... "Would we know Jesus if He came here today ... how would we react?"  The reason for the question is our mixture of notions about what He would be like.  How would He look?  I have seen all of the Sunday School pictures of a blond haired, blue-eyed Jesus, but I am guessing that those might be falsely informed by our society.  Since Jesus was born to Mary I am guessing He would look a bit middle-eastern ... what do you think?  The point here is, if Jesus returned my expectations would not inform how He looks, what He does or who He is.  My expectations are irrelevant.

The Gospel accounts of Jesus tell the story of a man who repeatedly defied the expectations of those He lived with.  He was misunderstood by His own family, totally disrespected and abused by the church people of His culture and even a puzzlement to the disciples that were with Him longer than anyone.  It is a rare person who "got" Jesus.  And even those people only got a glimpse of the most amazing and influential person in history.

I note all these things to say this.  Sunday we will talk about what we will be doing when Jesus returns.  But will we even know Him?  And how will we know Him?  By the pictures we have painted of a God who meets our expectations or by how we have learned all about Him from his Word.  Wayne Watson asks ... "Has the picture I have painted, so distorted who You are, that even if the world was looking they would not see you ... the real you ... have I lost Your true reflection, to fulfill my own desire, making you all I want, not showing you for the divine?"  Wow ... cutting and challenging words!  These words make me think and make me pray that I will seek God on His terms, not mine.  The last verse of the song is a longing prayer ... "Would I know you now, if you left and closed the door, would my soul cry out, I don't need you anymore, or would I follow you, could I be restored, my Jesus would I know you now?"  I hope we would all follow ... let God be God (our expectations cannot change God, but maybe God can change our expectations).  I will pray we begin to see Jesus as He is.  Randy

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