PLAYING TAPS
This past weekend we packed up the kids and went on a business/pleasure visit to the Clarkes, our good friends in Nauwigewauk. Now, before I go any further, I realize some explanation is in order. No, Nauwigewauk isn't a prison, or a sanatorium, it's a Local Service District east of Saint John. What is a Local Service District? --A place too small to call a town or a village. (Hey we're not even out of the first paragraph yet, and you dun learned something!) All this aside, the area around Nauwigewauk is in some of the prettiest country in New Brunswick. Looking out the Clarke's windows, you see rolling pastures, green with the new grass of spring and dotted with piles of stones where the farmers have cleared the land. Off in the distance are the wooded hills with the trees just beginning to bud--we're talking Pastoral with a capital "P."
On Monday morning, Hazel and Sheila left the five kids with us and made their merry way to a nearby yard sale. A few minutes after the ladies departed, we kicked the kids outside to play, like any self-respecting fathers would when faced with the same situation. Now, don't get the wrong idea. It wasn't as if we abandoned the children to the wilds of Nauwigewauk while we caught a few zzzzzzzzz! No, before they went out, the children were given a few parameters. They had to stay in the yard, away from the pond, away from the fort down the hill.
Geoff and I sat in the kitchen talking about this and that, solving the world's problems, and developing the definitive interpretations for most of the sticky passages in Scripture. Meanwhile, we watched the kids play outside our window. Then, when someone started to do anything particularly nasty, Geoff would tap on the window. Immediately, well not too long after that, his kids would turn around and realize that they were busted. The tap on the window was their wake up call to the fact that dad was watching them, and disapproving of their current actions.
Meanwhile, my boys were oblivious to the message conveyed by the tap. Oh, David did hear it once and turned around to wave at Geoff peering out the window, but the message was lost on him. Geoff didn't want his waves, he wanted him to stop what he was doing. It was fun to watch! I was amazed at how soon the children forgot that we were there watching everything. Five or ten minutes after the last rap, they would get involved in an activity that would only appeal to the warped mind of a child, and another rap came at the window.
Our walk with God is much the same experience as that of our kids in Geoff's backyard. When we become Christians, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Rom.8:9). God takes up residence within us and watches over us. Sometimes we may be wandering too close to a boundary line, or about to do something stupid and a rap comes at the door of our hearts. The question is: What do we do with that rap? Do we stop what we're doing or do we turn around and wave, then continue--business as usual?
Points to Ponder
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When was the last time you realized that God was watching you? Does this reminder bring joy or fear? The fact that God is watching us should be a comfort. It is, if our hearts are right with Him and our heads are pointed in the right direction. But that's not always the case.
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When was the last time you felt the rap of the Holy Spirit upon your heart? Did you listen and stop what you were doing, or did you close the door and do it anyway? If you can't remember the last time you were convicted, either you're too good to be true, or you've stopped listening. This isn't a good thing!
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Why not ask God to make you sensitive to His raps? Just like David did when He said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalms 139:23-24). By listening to our raps, the kids saved themselves a lot of potential pain and discomfort. You can, too, if you seek to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and not quench His guidance (1 Thess. 5:19).
Prayer
Lord, God. It's so easy for us to get distracted by this world and forget that You're here watching, waiting, hoping we'll do the right thing. Thank You for watching over us. As our Father, You are always watching, always protecting, never letting us stray from your gaze. Thank You for giving us Your Spirit to tap at our hearts. Make us more sensitive to your leading and help us to listen to, and not ignore, your taps. Forgive us when we've waved instead of obeyed! Amen!
