Tomorrow will mark three weeks for me, living in England.  Looking back I am a little surprised; for past visits, arrivals in England have been deeply emotional, with a profound sense of being undeservedly blessed by our loving Father.  I had some small expectation that this time, being a permanent arrival, would be perhaps even more so, but it was not.  It was completely different.  Even before stepping from the plane, my heart was stilled: I sensed only that I was coming home.  It is not odd that vehicles drive on the left, nor are any of the other characteristics that make Britain and Ireland unique.  It’s as if life has been this way all along.

This does not mean all that came before is forgotten.  I already miss our adult children deeply.  There is a longing that will not pass away with time, which was there when we were on the same continent but is now magnified by distance (Skype and Facebook not withstanding).  I look forward with great anticipation to the day Edye and the younger children join me – in a few weeks, the Lord willing.  Even so, I have already been transplanted, grafted in.  I pray the graft takes fully, that we can all grow strong and faithful in this new soil.

This will happen again one day, for all of us: we will be removed from this earthly soil and transplanted into heaven … and we will realize that all that came before was merely preparation for the reality that will then be ours.  Our hearts will be changed – they must be changed, if truly there will be no tears there, else how could we remember the past without tears?  I do not know how He will make it so; I only know that He will do what He has promised.

Knowing this, how do we then live?  You’re likely familiar with Jesus’ parable commonly called “the prodigal son”, found in Luke 15:11-32.  The popular name completely misses the point; Jesus is not telling us to live like the [temporarily] faithless son … but like the ever-faithful father.  “when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” (v. 20b).

Jesus makes it clear He came to show us the Father (John 14:8-11), and Paul tell us our destiny is to be made like Jesus (Romans 8:28-30).  It follows then that we should have the same mind as the persevering father in the parable, which indeed is the mind of our heavenly Father.

We all (and especially clergy!) are called to live at the end of our driveway.  Whether it is our own son or daughter, a church member, someone who has never known Jesus, or someone we have never met before, we must spiritually spend our days and nights at the end of the driveway, always watching, always praying, always believing that the prodigal will come home … and ready to run – RUN – and embrace them as soon as they come into sight!  Whatever we do physically, whether praying alone in our prayer closet or on the sidewalk of an abortion clinic; ministering to the least and the lost through street drama or working in a soup kitchen; posting Facebook messages or preaching in the church on Sunday; reading a bedtime story or sending a Bible overseas; visiting the elderly or marching for life; actively seeking the one who has strayed, or comforting the ninety-nine who have not; whatever we do physically, in our hearts we must be ready to embrace the prodigal regardless how long they have been away or how far from God they have roamed.  “The Lord is … longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

God may have blessed you with a mansion … but live at the end of your driveway!

Praise reports

The people and clergy of St. Stephen’s and the church in Edinburgh

The Bastin family in Kansas, who hosted our base of operations in their home so we could complete the dispersal of household goods, celebrate birthdays, and say farewell to family and friends

Love offerings from God’s people far and wide, known and unknown

Grace and favor in setting up the necessities of life in a new country: checking account, Tube passes for four, national insurance number (similar to a social security number), and more

Prayer requests

That Edye, Christyn, and Tobyn’s visa would be approved in short order so they might join me in London by early June

That we would be good stewards of all that God provides

That remaining expenses in America would be completely paid off

Support status

Goal:                     $11,722

Received:            $  1,175                 10% of total

God’s people had anticipated the coming of the Messiah for centuries.  Christ’s coming completed all the prophecies God had given them, yet when He finally arrived many rejected Him.  How could this be?

The people were groaning under the iron rule of the Romans.  The Lord had been silent (in terms of the Scriptures) for several hundred years.  Expectations were high.  Jesus had been going through the land healing and proclaiming the kingdom of God, attracting crowds and followers everywhere He went.  Expectations were tremendously high … yet in the span of a few days it all fell apart.  How could this be?  The answer – expectations.

Every person having any concept of the Messiah also had expectations as to what He would be like and what He would do, and these expectations spanned the entire range of human existence:  health, politics, finances, power, glory, dominion – essentially a one-man answer to every need and desire.  Unfortunately, almost all these expectations were wrong, and were therefore left unmet.  It explains their behavior, and it provides illumination for us if we are to avoid the poison of our own unmet expectations.  In the events of Holy Week, we see at least four different responses to expectations that are not met.

The people – Those who angrily shouted “Crucify Him!” at Jesus’ trial were the very same ones who had joyfully cried out “Hosanna!” (“Save [us]!”) at His earlier entry into Jerusalem.  In addition to all the good and miraculous works they had seen Him do, they expected Him to throw off the yoke of the Romans.  When He meekly submitted to Pilate’s authority, it didn’t take much to transform their disappointment and anger into a thirst for revenge.

Judas Iscariot – We can’t really know all that was in Judas’ mind and heart, but from his behavior it seems most likely that he wanted to force Jesus’ hand – to put Him in a position where He had to exercise His power and authority to declare the Kingdom of God on the earth.  When it became apparent Jesus would not do this, Judas realized that maybe God’s plan was different than his own.  He tried to undo what he had done, and failing this he was overcome by guilt.  Because he didn’t really know Jesus, he assumed his sin could never be forgiven and took his own life.

Simon Peter – We do know what was in Peter’s heart, as he made it very clear:  “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35, NKJV).  Despite his best intentions he did deny Jesus, and the guilt and shame overwhelmed him … but did not overcome him.  Unlike Judas he really did know Jesus, so when He appeared at the lake where they were fishing Peter leapt into the water and swam to Him.  Peter needed to be healed from his sin of three denials, which Jesus did in asking him three times “Do you love Me?”  From that point on Peter was restored, and he was transformed into the faithful disciple he had always longed to be.

John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” – John remains in the background, making no bold claims and taking no rash actions.  He followed … he watched … he comforted … and he ended up taking Jesus’ mother into his own home.  We do not know what his expectations were, but we do know his response:  just as Jesus “only did what He saw the Father doing”, John quietly observed what Jesus was doing and fully participated in it.  He was the only disciple to see it through to the end – the crucifixion – and he remained faithful to the end of his own life.

So we see four different responses to unmet expectations:  anger ending in revenge; despair ending in escape; sorrow ending in restoration; perseverance ending in contentment.  How will you and I respond?

We come to a very dangerous place when we stand face to face with unmet expectations.  We have a choice, and that choice can affect our integrity, our personality, our personal testimony, our ministry, and even our eternal destiny!  Every human since Adam has faced this choice many times in their lives, and each time as with Cain “sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you” (Genesis 4:7, NKJV).

What will you choose?

• Will we be angry, and seek revenge?
• Will we despair, give up, and abandon our faith, our involvement, and/or our responsibility to others?
• Will we accept the disappointment, grieve for a time, and then let Christ our risen Lord restore us?
• Will we trust that Jesus knows what is best and knows what He is doing, and follow Him with eyes and heart open to fully participating in His plan?

The first two of these will set us on a road away from God, the road that ultimately ends in spiritual death.  If we head down this road we can still repent and change direction, but each time it will become more difficult to do so … and we will eventually come to a point of no return.  The great danger is that we will not recognize that point when we reach it.

The other two choices will draw us closer to our Lord, and will end up increasing our faith, our strength, and our perseverance.  It will also increase our ability to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others.

I pray that we all will continually make one of these latter two choices, for life will always be full of unmet expectations.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendour.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.