“…for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.” Luke 1:15
The message to all was “Next wire renew date March 16, 2025.” It was on the ship’s crane, used to lift items up, and onto, the ship. Being on vacation, with deliberately nothing to do… I read, then thought about it. I also took a better look at the existing cable that was already there… it was starting to look rough as of 11/2024!
Thinking about what that crane could possibly lift, I ruled out ‘people.’ But maybe I shouldn’t have. What the message said was that the cable, or lifting power, had an expiration date! If I was in a lifeboat, even in a position of being saved by that lift, I’d be worried if the day was say… February 22, 2025! That’d be too close to trust!
Naturally, on vacation with nothing else to do, I began running scenarios in my head. I understand that that specific date was probably computed by some engineer, way back in some office, possibly far from sea. But WHY boldly place it, in black letters on white, where EVERYONE could read it… and wonder?
Knowing the Holy Spirit, I knew He was trying to teach me a lesson with the ‘show and tell’ before my eyes. While coming up with several possibilities, the one that ‘stuck’ made me examine the expiration date on MY life. How much and how well have I lifted people, under my care, up to now. Can I improve? And for how long?
The story of Jesus’ birth is preceded by the story of John the Baptist. Reading it, I caught that he was to abstain from ‘wine and other fermented drink.’ Looking up commentaries on that, I learned the lesson that, when it comes to joy, NOTHING artificial is to be accepted. Only the Joy that comes from the Holy Spirit will do.
As I write, I am forced to examine my life to determine what artificial sweeteners, habits and hangups I might be relying on. How GREAT do ‘I’ look to Jesus? This is going to take some time and deep consultation with the Engineering powers of the Holy One. Care to join me in that introspection inspection this Advent?
