2:5 And there were
dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And
when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused,
because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all
amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we
were born?
Atheism is on the rise. It's understandable. We live at a
point in history when God seems silent. These times have come before. They
don't come because God withdraws from us. They come because we withdraw from
Him. In the days when God raised up the prophet Samuel to speak for Him the
Bible describes the era as nearly devoid of any connection with God. It isn't hard
to see why. The priests were morally corrupt and spiritually dead. The people
refused to submit to God and then blamed Him when things went wrong. Worst of
all they had become convinced that the solution to all their problems was to
appoint a human king to replace the King of kings.
In our day too many pastors and priests are morally corrupt
and spiritually dead. Too many people refuse to submit to God yet blame Him for
everything that goes wrong. We have decided that science and technology are our
new saviours and every election that rolls around we act as though putting the
right person in Ottawa or the White House will magically turn everything
around.
Clearly none of it is working and the further we move from
Love the further away He seems yet God never moved.
It reminds me of a woman who asked her husband as they drove
along in his pickup (with a bench seat) why they never snuggled as they drove
anymore. They used to sit close together but now he was on one side and she was
on the other. His response was hard to disagree with: "I am still in the
same place..."
One author describes the era when Jesus was on earth as the
darkest hour of human history for God's people. Marriage was a colossal
failure. Racism and prejudice were at an all time high. The temple was large
and beautiful but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob seemed a million miles
away. It was so bad that when Jesus came - God in human flesh - they perceived
Him as a threat and an enemy and murdered Him.
Yet even at this dark hour there were devout men and women
spread all over the world who still believed in the God of Abraham and still
faithfully came to Jerusalem for all the special occasions God had given His
people to celebrate there. They held onto the hope that things would not always
be so dark. Their hope was not disappointed. On this feast of Pentecost their
God who had seemed so silent and distant suddenly made Himself known in a way
that grabbed the attention of both the speakers and the audience.
Mark my words. If you hold onto Him in this current darkness
your hope will not be disappointed. Slide back across that bench seat and stay
with He who is in the driver’s seat. The journey will end well. It will end at
Home.
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