Last night during the Story of God show, in the back of the new space at The Gathering in Carmel, Indiana- we poured out God’s Story to the 40 hearts who came; old and young, an ADHD 1st grader on the first row who loves the Boston Red Sox, Congolese refugees, elderly friends, neighbors, and kind hearts who gathered closed to see. I loved it. I loved them for coming.
As we shared the Story last night I understood something that I have always wondered about. Why did God announce the arrival of His Son to shepherds on a hillside nearby? Why not announce it to Kings, or VIPS, or the bustling city where all the action was?
I think I understand now….he knew they would come.
They weren’t too busy or preoccupied with weighty important matters. They didn’t say, ‘that sounds wonderful, but unfortunately we can’t accommodate you at this time.”
Jesus stayed in the outskirts of town a lot. The misfits, and ragamuffins, and the ‘over passionate’ came to him there. The ‘ones who had it all together’ didn’t come or if they did, they stood on the outside of the crowd gathered around Jesus and measured him, but never came close.
Perhaps it is wrong of me to draw this parallel, but regardless, I found myself doing it last night.
Sometimes God interrupts. He changes things up. He announces new things suddenly.
He often pours out His best stuff on the least likely. I am glad.
On this Story of God journey we have been welcomed mostly by the small and weak, the ones who didn’t know how and weren’t sure and just tried. The powerful and organized haven’t had time for This Story- they can’t make room or as they say, ‘accommodate it at this time.’
I am concerned for us and I have been for a long time that we don’t let God interrupt anymore because we would rather know months in advance so we can be organized and laminated.
We just need a room. The Story of God just needs a room- but where there are many rooms available in great big efficient buildings-many times the rooms sit empty, organized, vacuumed, and locked. Or stuffed with programs and resources and ‘business as usual’ and the ‘way we have always done it’.
I think God sometimes does new things. Where can he put those?
Perhaps that is why we cram into the least likely- perhaps like a stable- and we share The Story poured out in unlikely places.
And the simple draw near.
Our little ADHD 1st grader friend who can’t sit through movies, sat mesmerized through the whole Story of God last night. He didn’t look away- and when it was over he wanted all of his new cool friends (The Story Cast) to sit with him in the middle of the floor and share ice cream and everyone obliged him this request.
Our Congolese friend had 1000 words- he SAW it all and his artist heart drank in the beauty and celebrated the story and although he was ‘shy to cry’- he knew the Story merited his tears.
Our elderly kind friends nodded their heads with deep affirmation of the familiar and Holy Words of God as they raced by in the 2 hours. They welcomed them like old friends and celebrated how they came forth from young hearts with such power and freshness.
And as I watched all this transpire, I couldn’t stop thinking about those smelly shepherds on that lonely hill and it made me smile in my heart as I understood why God chose them to hear the words first.
He knew they would come