Another day, another sunny day, and is anyone complaining? Imagine waking every day knowing, in as much as you can ever know, that the sun will shine. Would you like that or would you get bored with the predictability? Maybe you would prefer the surprise of not knowing what weather the day will give. Perhaps you like waking each day not knowing how long the sun will shine, if it shines at all, or how long the rain will fall.
How much do you like to be surprised? What is the best surprise you have ever had? There is a whole web site dedicated to giving examples of how you can surprise your partner. Here are a couple of examples: Authentic messages is a message in a bottle service that offers a large variety of bottles and messages for people to send to their loved ones. Buyers choose a bottle, write their message and it is then packaged. You can even choose to burn the edges of the message to give it an authentic feel. Each bottle comes on a bed of wood shavings and placed in a unique coffin style display case. [it takes all kinds!]
Another is to book a nice hotel or bed & breakfast for a short weekend break and don't tell him/her until you get there. Surprises like these just say that you love your partner and want to pamper them for a while.
How much of a surprise is it to you that the God, who made the world and continues to hold it together in the palm of His hand, has also made it possible for you to live forever with Him? What really surprises me is that so many people seem committed to refusing to take that offer and what also surprises me is that this same God, the Lord and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is happy to let us make that decision and say no thanks! All our experience tells us that the 19th century politician, Lord Acton , was right when he said “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Experience tells us that people in power will do what they can do. So we have the fascist dictators of the early part of the 20th century and the collective dictatorships of those on the other political extreme.
On our recent trip to China a politician told us that while China knew all about ruling they had much to learn about governing. They know how to control but not how to lead. It would seem quite natural to many that God would open the door to heaven and make everyone come in but that is not what he has done. He has opened the door and left the decision to us. If you really love a person you will not force them to do what they do not want to do. It is very difficult to allow your children the freedom to make their own mistakes and decisions but if you love them you will give them that right. The door is open but you have to walk through it. If we enjoy freedom we should not be surprised that God allows us to have it. As someone much wiser than me has said, “be careful what you ask for as you might just get it.” Have you been surprised recently?
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