There are many ways we can all hide from
view. One way is to lock ourselves
behind a door. That works for a while
until someone decides to try and open it.
The next is to duck behind a bush.
This is the silliest of ways because I know personally, a 5’9” frame
needs a pretty large bush to hide behind.
The last is to leave and run away from everything we know. This creates loneliness and you know, God
hates a vacuum.
This is the dilemma the apostles had after the
death of Jesus. Out of shear fear they
did the only child-like thing they knew how to do – to lock themselves up with
the hope that no one would try and enter.
Jesus never wanted them to secluded.
His ministry was one of voyage and sensory experience; to make Himself
known to everyone He could touch and heal.
Some fear openness because it leaves them
vulnerable to ridicule and retribution but it can also be an avenue to
self-discovery and sharing ourselves to others who need our love the most. It teaches us to learn how to co-exist and be
tolerable. It also teaches us to care for
one another and to protect their right to live.
Like the Beatles tune, “All we need is a little love”, it is more than
mere words. It is our heart spilled out
and overflown through the very spirit of Christ.
He tried to explain to His followers that it was
an unquenchable fire that simply could not be put out. You cannot tame a wild beast but a lamb; he
sits quietly by his shepherd and hears his voice. Much like the “man behind the curtain”, this
could be anyone of us. Are we to be the
fire that ignites the flame of faith or are we to be the light by which others
follow? You may never know, unless you
find the courage to take that first step, guided by Christ as your friend and
protector. Jesus died for this very
reason. We are not to mourn. He is alive, He has risen, He is born again,
in our hearts and in our minds. By dying
He destroyed death and restored hope.
His suffering was not in vain, it brought out the love we so desperately
needed. What type of legacy will we
deliver about our time here on Earth? How
we impact this world is for us to decide.
Will our response to Christ come from behind a locked and lonely door or
will it come from our love of one another?
That is for you to decide.