Full of Awesome Surprises

Which way are you looking? Are you looking back? Back to the things that went bad? Or, are you looking forward with a sense of expectation that something good will happen?

Life can be hard. Very hard. You may have been touched by death, struggle with disability, been used or abused, or just had a streak of bad luck. Such experiences can kill all your joy. With 20/20 hindsight you look back and see only darkness, wondering, "Where is God?”

That is just exactly how the disciples felt on Easter morning before Jesus appeared to them - only worse. They had been with a man who exuded the power of God. He was full of awesome surprises and talked about changing the whole world. Now he was dead.

Once again, Jesus surprised them. He appeared to them. He kept appearing to them - seven or more times - until they began to look forward with the expectation that they would see him again. The last thing that our Lord Jesus Christ said on this earth was not "It is finished!" or "Into Thy hands I commit my spirit." but "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Then he ascended into Heaven. By doing so he transformed their way of thinking until they knew that they were living in the presence of the Lord and looked forward to seeing the surprising signs of that presence in their daily lives without seeing his body or hearing his voice.

Are you tired of looking back to the bad and feeling down? Try looking back with 20/20 hindsight. Look for the life affirming surprises that have appeared in the last year. Things like an unexpected visit, card, letter, or phone call. Help when facing a difficulty, help at the time of an accident, receiving an affirming word, seeing a child, a deer, a bird, a bunny rabbit that brought a smile to your face. These are the signs that Jesus is with you. I'll bet you will find at least seven such surprises.

The Easter message tells us that there is life after death, life after disability, life after abuse and misfortune. God is in the business of helping us pick up the pieces of our broken lives so we can turn around and once again serve Him, rejoicing in the daily expectation that he will use us and surprise us with the signs of his presence.

Don't be afraid of dying. Be afraid of not living!



Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Benjamin's Dog Joseph, Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.

For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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