Make Me Ready For You
As a kid I never doubted God. All His stories were true. I grew up on flannel graph Bible lessons and summer gospel meetings with fireflies dancing outside the windows as the visiting preacher was finally winding down. A heavy laden chalk board often stood behind the evangelist, his suit sleeves covered with white dust. Bless be The Tie and Doxology would soon dismiss us to our next appointed time.
Going to church was as natural a part of my life as breath itself. And so was my God, the Almighty One of Israel who could and would do anything. Just as sure as my legs dangled over the edge of the pew, my mind wandered across time and through the giant Bible storybook that had been written like so many chapters in my mind. Like you, I believed those stories with a passion.
But they were more than stories then. They were life itself.
I ponder from time to time, "What happened? When did God become so much more prudent, so much more mannered? Do we even believe God leads us anymore, or is it just the God of the Old Testament, the God of my childhood? Am I too sophisticated to believe this anymore?
My friend Leif Morton's story reminds us.
His seat was in the upright position with his carry-on items safely stowed underneath the seat in front of him. His tray table was in the locked position as a small man approached. Leif had been hoping no one would sit beside him so he could enjoy a quiet journey in a book on Christian martyrs, but just before takeoff here came a short gentleman with a middle eastern accent.
A respected physicist, Leif writes programs related to the salvage of the solid rocket boosters that jettison from the side of NASA's space shuttle before it leaves orbit. He is also a deeply spiritual man, an authentic disciple. For some time he had been praying for God to lead him to share his faith. He wants to share his trust in God with his coworkers, many of whom are nominal believers at best. He wants to share his faith with anyone who has an ear to hear. But he has doubts about his own confidence, or his sense of timing. "Make me ready Lord" was Leif's bold prayer, time and again. "Make me ready."
As Leif tells me this story over dinner, his eyes moisten with the soft tears of an encounter with God. Finding his seat next to Leif's this olive complexioned fellow passenger at first said nothing. Yet Leif felt a strong conviction and silently prayed, "Lord, if I should share my love for you with this man, please make me ready and give me a clear sign. Make me ready."
Long after the seat belt light had been extinguished and they were free to move about the cabin, the meal service cart was coming toward them. Leif put his book aside, and the man next to him smiled a warm greeting. "Hello. Pardon me for asking, but are you a Christian?"
Leif was so stunned at what could not be excused as coincidence. Just minutes before he had asked God for a lead, to "make him ready," and here this man was actually asking... Before he could even respond the man continued. "I am from India and am Hindu, but I am often in America for business. I want to know more about your God and this man you call Jesus."
Leif's heart was pounding now! He reached out a clammy but willing hand to introduce himself, saying, "Yes, yes, I'm a Christian, I'd love to tell you of Jesus. My name is Leif."
That's when the man smiled again and said, "Hi. My name is Redi."
"MY NAME IS REDI!"
God had such a heart for Leif's prayer He not only sent him an opportunity, but the gentleman's name reminds us we are ready when God calls, even if we think we're not! Leif asked God to prepare him and give him a sign and God gave him an eager man named Redi.
God really is still answering prayers, right here in our grown up world of sensibility and order! And He yearns to surprise us now and then, breaking through our adult sophistication and giving us a childlike visitation, a reminder of His interest in the people we are and the people we know.
The story of Leif and Redi really is a modern day burning bush, or a continuous supply of oil and meal. It is akin to a crippled man leaping for joy, or a disciple who skips across the water hand in hand with God Himself!
For Leif this episode was not about him making a mark for God. He may never see Redi from India again (though they did talk for the duration of the flight). This divine appointment is more about God's mark on Leif. He had become a character on God's great flannel graph, placed here and there for eternal purposes.
As I tell this story I yearn to sit in a pew much larger than the ones in my sanctuary, to let my legs dangle again and my imagination rise up, led by the Lord Almighty and limited only by Him, never by me.
I want the stories of God, His true story of real life to be lived out in my life today.
God leads us today if we will trust and follow. He's the God of the Old Testament, the God of the New, the God of my childhood, and God today.
My God. He hasn't changed. Have we?
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