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Going Viral... In Such a Time as This

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I’m grateful to be married to Cassie, a thoughtful and deeply committed Christian woman. Who has an incredible amount of patience. Here’s proof: She puts up with me!

Earlier this week she had an interesting insight. But first, the back story...

We live near El Dorado Park, on a street blessed with an abundance of children. Kids of all ages run up and down the sidewalks, the older ones even play football in the street. And we love it! Most of the time.

A few days ago a new family moved in a couple houses down from us. A quiet two-bedroom house is now home to two parents and five kids, with ages ranging from 5 to 15.

And before you know it, these new kids on the block were joining in all the regular games of freeze tag and bike rides and throwing the football in the middle of the street. Which always annoys me, but it’s what kids are supposed to do, I suppose.

And with all these new children, the center of activity has shifted - to our front lawn. Before we knew it there were a whole slew of children creating 100 decibels of noise right in front of our (previously quiet) little home.

And that’s when she said it. My thoughtful, deeply committed Christian wife connected the craziness that was our front lawn with what we’d been engaging for six weeks in our series Going Viral: “I guess we’re supposed to be Jesus to all these kids… God is bringing our evangelism opportunity to our front yard.”

And I’ll admit - or, rather, confess it: My immediate reaction was frustration. “Really?” I thought. “Why can’t they be quieter, at least!?”

But, Cassie was right. And her insight provides a great connection between Going Viral and our new series in Esther, For Such A Time As This.

Esther is famous for what it’s missing: This biblical book never mentions God, prayer, the miraculous, the temple, Jerusalem, or the Bible. One commentator writes, however,

Most people today have never experienced a conspicuous miracle or an indisputable divine intervention. Most people today live in a world that looks a lot like Esther's, where events and situations show no obvious or blatant action of God in the midst of them.

Which sounds like the people we interact with in our neighborhood, where events and situations show no obvious or blatant action of God in the midst of them. Which is not unlike the work of the early church, who evangelized faithfully even after Jesus’ ascension. Though he wasn’t physically present, He was spiritually at work.

Just like in my neighborhood.

So, pray for my patience! May we all be faithful in such a time as this.

Pastor Curtis

2 Comments

So glad I saw this. Love you guys!

When I was elder-trustee, president of East Whittier Presbyterian Church Corp, I had a"divine intervention" which I have shared with pastors before (smiles)

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