Today’s scripture: John 7:14-36 (NRSV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Jeff Miner):
In today’s reading, it’s clear that Jesus’ relationship with the religious leaders (the Pharisees) was broken. They had apparently decided Jesus was a dangerous rebel and must be stopped. Jesus is at the festival at the temple in Jerusalem, and the dialogue is tense. Some actually say to Jesus, “You have a demon!” Everywhere he turns, people are wanting to argue about his teachings and whether he can be trusted. Several times the passage mentions that the religious leaders want to arrest and kill him. The scene is full of chaos, bitter argument, and high danger.
Then comes verse 30: “They tried to arrest Jesus, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.”
I love that verse!
It reminds me that no matter how crazy life gets, there are certain things God simply will not allow to happen. I believe God gives humanity significant free will to shape what happens here on earth — for good or bad. But there are certain lines that God will not allow to be crossed.
God saw to it that nobody was going to arrest Jesus until “his hour” had come.
The same principle applies to us. There are certain things God simply won’t let happen to us. God will not let me die, I am confident, until “my hour has come.” Even if a mortal enemy tries to kill me, they will not succeed, unless it is my hour. All this reminds me of an old TV commercial that closed by saying, “We will sell no wine before its time.” They were trying to convey that, under no circumstance, would they allow the aging process for their wine to be rushed.
So it is with us.
A few years ago, a speeding driver came racing through an intersection at 60 miles per hour (at Binford and 71st Street) and slammed into a vehicle occupied by a member of our church — Robin Herman. Robin’s vehicle was demolished, her ear was torn, ribs broken, neck broken, and she was left unconscious hanging out the window. But Robin is still with us. Apparently it was not “her hour.” God still has much for her to do.
One of Robin’s two beloved dogs was thrown from her vehicle and ran in terror. For ten days, many of us spent hours searching for Abbey, a shy yellow lab. After numerous reported sightings at many diverse locations, after searching many woods, fields, ditches, and railroad tracks, after the most brutal cold snap in Indiana in years, things didn’t look good for Abbey. One pet communicator told one of our folks that Abbey had run, hid under a bush, and never got up again due to severe internal injuries. This communicator said Abbey was dead.
Then after ten days in the wild, Abbey was found — healthy and well. I guess is wasn’t “her hour.”
Thought for the day: Each of us can rest knowing that God has appointed a time span for our lives and NOTHING will take us down until “our hour” comes.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.