Leave Room for God

Talk about surprises. Paul thought he had committed his life to God. He was a Jew, one of God's chosen people. He was zealous in protecting the traditions of his ancestors and firmly believed he was justified in the persecution of Christians -- these blasphemers who taught a new way to God.

"But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me . . . " While Paul was on the way to Damascus with a letter from the high priest giving him permission to arrest any followers of Christ he might find there, a light from heaven flashed around him, he fell to the ground blinded and heard a voice from heaven speaking to him. God came to Paul in a way he did not expect. Similarly, God surprised Ananias, the believer whom he sent to speak to the newly converted Paul, Christian enemy #1.

I work for a Christian organization, a homeless shelter, in the PR department, and Oswald is right. Sometimes we plan and strategize without taking the surprise element of God into account. I frequently set out to interview someone and write the prescribed article I have in mind. Then, as I interview, I find out the story is really about something else entirely. God breaks in.

"Expect Him to come, but do not expect Him only in a certain way. However much we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that at any minute He may break in," Oswald wisely advises. C.S. Lewis called God the Great Iconoclast. We are not meant to get too comfortable in our knowledge of him.

Annie Dillard has one of my favorite quotes on this subject:

There is no less holiness at this time—as you are reading this—than there was the day the Red Sea parted. . . . In any instant the sacred may wipe you with its finger. In any instant the bush may flare, your feet may rise, or you may see a bunch of souls in a tree. In any instant you may avail yourself of the power to love your enemies; to accept failure, slander, or the grief of loss; or to endure torture. Purity's time is always now.

The God who parted the Red Sea and surprised Paul on the road to Damascus is my God. One and the same. Expect to be surprised.

Barbara