REDEEMING REAL REALITY
Once again, rockets glared and bombs bursted in air above the town of Warren Sunday during its annual July 4 celebration.
Red, white, blue, green, gold, indigo, and other-colored sparks shot up into the dark sky. Suddenly, these rainbows flecks exploded in a chorus of pops and booms, and in a sizzling finale, they scattered in colorful circles before disappearing. Some puffed out like a dandelion head, while others left streaks of golden glitter that trailed down like the long, lank branches of a weeping willow.
People hooted and shouted; some no doubt covered their ears.
But Brooks McLain looked for wormies.
Throughout most of the show, the 2-year-old boy searched for the elusive and wriggling phylum annelid, and when one squirmed in the flashlight’s glow, he quickly bent over to snatch it.
Usually his prey escaped, but occasionally, the toddler touched his pinkish-red quarry before it could burrow away, and with this triumph, he exploded in a squeal of delight — or perhaps disgust — as he straightened up and pumped his legs up and down.
I confess I enjoyed his show much more.
And it inspired — and convicted — me much more too.
On a night of dazzles, Brooks chose the joys of real life, the life that explores and embraces the reality God created.
Unlike the boy, however, many people succumb to the dazzle and distraction of this world’s distant reality: its steady stream of shows and movies, social media influencers and their substance-defying soundbites, games and their achievements that achieve nothing, and headlines that plead with the politically powerful to change the world.
Instead of the rainbow of fireworks, the world dazzles and distracts people’s vision with a rainbow promising a pot of gold.
But by God’s grace, Christians can help fulfill God’s vision for His church when they choose His reality and its joys. They can unite and overcome even the gates of Hell through a revolution of righteousness, one that unleashes the power of the present and the power of proximity.
When Christians unleash the power of the present, they focus on the moments in front of them and celebrate them before they flicker away. They ask God to open their eyes to the fields white for harvest, whether they’re standing in a check-out line, stuck in traffic, going to the office, or strolling down the street on a Saturday afternoon.
They pray without ceasing, as the Apostle Paul said, going to God instantaneously as soon as they hear a prayer request. However, they also learn to live in a perpetual state of prayer — one ready and eager to talk to God at any moment of the day.
This attitude prays by default, not because of desperation.
Furthermore, those who live in the power of the present also praise without ceasing. When grumbles and complaints start to whisper, they sing instead. They thank God for a blessing they’ve never thanked God for. They relish the glow of the sunset over the glow of the tablet’s screen.
And those who live in the power of the present prepare for the future practically.
For instance, a missionary once visited a church to talk about mission-field preparation. Near the beginning of his talk, he asked the congregation the same question he uses to identify the best missionary candidates:
Who wakes up and stays up with the alarm clock?
Those people, he said, discipline themselves in the seemingly small details of each day. They find joy in the Kingdom’s daily discipleship — giving, honesty, fasting, discernment, modest living, Bible study, prayer, accountability and hospitality.
Their righteousness doesn’t just sporadically erupt like a geyser. It flows like a river to saturate each action and attitude.
“Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God,” the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:13.
Paul, however, not only encouraged the power of the present; he encouraged the power of proximity.
(To be continued, Lord willing, in the Saturday, July 22, News-Banner).
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