Acts 8:3-4 “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. THEREFORE, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word.”
Gifts can come wrapped in the strangest packages.
After my sons married, boxes of their childhood “treasures” were left behind in our attic. Following years of accumulation, my husband and I began to purge and summoned our boys to claim their dusty belongings. Not being their top priority, it all remained in our attic.
Having a rare moment of Christmas-inspiration last December, I retrieved two of their largest boxes from the attic. Wrapping them in festive paper and topping them with an enormous bow, I placed them under our tree where they became the grandest of all our gifts.
On Christmas Day, my sons and daughters-in-law were delightfully intrigued and made numerous guesses as to the contents of their massive gifts. But after peeling away the wrapping and opening the lids, their expressions changed.
“What is that?” inquired both wives as they peered inside.
Our eldest son responded, “It’s the sub-woofer from my first car.” Our second son replied, “It’s the cash register from my college fireworks tent.”
Sheepishly grinning, my sons sarcastically said, “Thanks mom and dad. Didn’t see that coming.”
They were good sports and as they departed, they made numerous jokes as to what they might do with their “gifts.”
What they anticipated was not their reality.
We find this same experience in Acts as the “Christian movement” grew and the Jews became more and more angry. Attempting to halt the movement, they had killed Jesus Christ, yet the number of Christians continued to increase. Their next plan was persecution, and Saul was just the man for the job. Surely, fear would stop Christianity in its tracks.
But what they anticipated was not their reality either. The believers scattered, and THEREFORE spread the Good News across the nations.
Saul didn’t see that coming, but it is a proven fact that God can take a mess and turn it into His message.
Our recent years have not been as we anticipated: a terrible virus, struggling economy, unemployment, babies born having no church-casseroles delivered, graduations and “I Do’s” pronounced without pomp and circumstance, and families kept apart from loved ones.
But THEREFORE. . .
The quarantines provided us a priceless opportunity. We were gifted time to slow life down, play games together, discover each other’s hidden dreams and ambitions, uncover new talents, appreciate laughter, and bond together over the dinner table.
Perhaps with an update, Acts 8:3-4 speaks loud and clear to our lives today:
“As for Covid, it made havoc of our lives, entering every household, and confining men, women, and children, committing them to their houses. THEREFORE, those who were quarantined discovered hidden blessings scattered in their lives.”
Didn’t see that coming? Rest assured, our God did.
Father God, open our eyes to the blessings hidden in the messes of our lives.
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane