12.26.23 - Luke 2:27
When the moment the Spirit calls to you today, pause for a second and smile. You don’t have to do anything, just smile and then be open to what happens next.
Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law…
Sometimes life feels coincidental.
We’re in a place, we hear a word or phrase, we see someone we haven’t seen or who needs help…
And, it just seems right, feels right, to help, to say something, to do something.
When I was younger I’d be amazed at these coincidences, attributing them to God’s work or God’s will.
However, that’s not the case for me today. I’m just not a providence kind of person anymore. It takes all the responsibility out of our hands and doesn’t really allow us to be playful in a moment when it’s needed.
A serious moment for a family in the temple, and Simeon happened to be there. A moment of joy for him, a moment of song. Guided by the Spirit…
Now, we could call that providence, but if Simeon wasn’t listening, watching, waiting, and ready, the moment would’ve passed. I’ve watched many moments pass that I could’ve done something if I’d only been ready to play.
Discipleship should be joyful, playful, anticipatory. It shouldn’t feel like work (although it is hard sometimes). I wonder, sometimes, if we’ve made it feel like work here at ReFrame.
It was never my intention, other than to say that habits build the muscles to respond to the Spirit. And let me be clear, the habit I want us to build is to be playful enough to experience the Spirit when the moment arrives.
When that moment comes today, pause for a second and smile. You don’t have to do anything, just smile and then be open to what happens next.
— Jason Whitehead