Meredith Moments

My daughter, bless her heart, is now 22 years old and an old married woman as of May 28th. We have laughed at her all of her life because of some of the things she has said. For instance, she used to get angry with us when she was a little girl, stomp her foot, and say, "You're funny, Daddy!" She thought it was an insult of some kind and we would just laugh. Which made her all the more angrier. Or when she was in eighth grade, she was visiting the United Nations in New York City. The tour guide was explaining the scope of the international community and made the comment that they were not in the United States as they stood in the United Nations building. So my daughter raised her hand and asked, "So are we in Canada?" Or (and I may have told you this) when my wife and I were talking one time about the pretty flowers this company had planted in front of their building. Martha said, "Look at the pansies." To which my daughter blurted, "Where are the chimpanzies?"
I would be remiss if I didn't give you one that I had the other day. My wife and I were going to pick up my son at camp and so we decided to go over the night before. We like to stay in bed and breakfast establishments so we made a reservation for a little place in Grand Island, NE. On the way over I inquired, "Now do we get breakfast with this?" (That's probably why they call them Bed and Breakfast.)
The apostles had the same problem. Jesus kept telling them that His kingdom was not of this world. Even thought Peter and John tried to get the seats of honor on Jesus' right and left side. Even though they tried to make Him king by force. Even though Peter tried to cut off the servant of Malchus' ear thinking this was the time, Jesus continued to tell them that His kingdom was not of this world. He raised from the grave and they were all so happy. They gathered around Him and asked, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus must have just kind of sighed and realized they had a moment just like Meredith did, just like I did. They spoke before their brains were in gear. Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." What I read in those words is, "You didn't get it did you? Go to Jerusalem and you will."
Too often we don't get it either. We forget, this is His turf. We're the visitors, the strangers, the aliens. And we speak far too often. Someone said that James told us to be slow to speak, swift to listen and slow to anger. That God gave us two ears and only one mouth. Therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak. Good advice. Now if I could only listen. Have a great day. JW