Jill and I have some house guests. A couple of weeks ago the kids’ grandma and step-granddad moved in with us. It is just for a short spell…until their apartment in Bartlesville is finished. Then we will move them up there and that will be their new home.
Moving was not their idea. It is just something that just happened…unexpectedly. You ever have that happen to you? Bill and Millie (names of the grandparents) got up one morning and went to Muskogee to do some running around and life totally changed. They were traveling on old Shawnee Street and in a blink they were involved in a motor vehicle accident. They were injured pretty badly.
They ended up in the hospital in Tulsa for about a week and then went to a skilled nursing wing at a nursing facility. After extensive physical therapy for about a week, they were released and came to Gore to live with us for a while. We looked at independent living places and settled on a place in Bartlesville. My daughter, her husband and grandbaby and a half live there. Jill and I plan on retiring in the Bartlesville area someday. The place had a cute two bedroom apartment. It has a beautiful dining area where they serve three meals a day. There are lots of activities going on and plenty of people to meet (wait, I may get a room there, too!).
My point is this: Isn’t it funny how quickly things can change…life I mean? We get up every day, get ourselves ready for school, work, play or just the regular day and its activities. We can do it day after day after day after…well, you get the picture. We do this and rarely, if ever, give a thought about how fast it can all change. Sometimes it can be slowly and you prepare for it and other times it can happen in a blink, suddenly, without any notice.
The kids’ grandparents got up, around and on the road, taking care of errands, doctor visits and having something to eat. Then making a turn to go back to the house everything changed. Their lives have never been the same and probably never will be the same.
My, how we take advantage of the daily, ordinary, mundane grind never thinking it can all change without warning and the effect it will have on us and others around us.
It was that way with Jesus and His disciples. They pass a blind man in Jerusalem sitting and begging for alms. Jesus restores his sight, and the man can now see (John 9). There was a lame man by the pool of Bethesda. He was crippled for 38 years. Jesus asked if he wanted to be well. He healed him, and the man’s life was never the same.
There was a Samaritan woman who went to the well to get water in the middle of the day (John 4). She met Jesus and had a lengthy discussion about drinking water, living water, where to worship and her life revealed to her. She realized Jesus was the Messiah and went to town and told everyone. She and her community were changed, and life was never the same again.
A woman was caught in the very act of adultery and brought to Jesus. She was cast at the feet of Jesus and a group of self-righteous leaders quizzed Jesus what should be done. After the dialogue between Jesus and the leaders was over, the woman found grace in that her life was spared, and she was told by Jesus to go and sin no more. Her life was changed in an instant for the rest of her life.
Jesus and His disciples went into Jerusalem on Sunday morning. He rode on a donkey, and the crowd cheered Him as King, Son of David, and Hosanna in the Highest! Then, just a few days later they screamed, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” They falsely accused and tried Him, led Him outside of town and crucified Him between two thieves and buried Him in a borrowed tomb. Three days later He rose from the dead, was seen by many and 40 days later ascended to the right hand of God. Everyone’s life changed from those events, in a moment, forever.
Easter is upon us, and the events mentioned in the previous paragraph continue to change us… others to this day. Easter can be a time to remember how this event changed others and ask if it has changed us… today…ever. All this is to say that Jesus said He would return one day. How? “In a moment,” “in the twinkling of an eye” and when no one will expect or know. And then, life will change, in a moment and forever. Will you be ready?
Bro. Tim
