Nonchalance

From almost day one… I always enjoyed surprising Piper with unexpected activities and gifts.  During our first summer together following our senior year in high school, I went with my Mom and Dad on a long-planned trip across the country to visit my sister and her husband at the now decommissioned Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Wisconsin, near the shores of Lake Huron.  My sister’s husband was a navigator on the KC 135 air tankers that refueled the B-52 bombers in mid-air hookups.

We were gone for two weeks and on the way home, I decided to play a little trick on my girlfriend.  So, as soon as we got home, I put on a sad voice, called her and let her know that we were still out of state and that I wouldn’t be home until the next day… Then I immediately hopped in the car with souvenirs of the trip in hand, and drove over to her house in order to surprise her!  When I got to the door, I excitedly rang the doorbell and quietly stood there ready to yell “Surprise!” when Piper answered.

But the moment was kind of shattered when her younger sister answered the door and rather bluntly said, with a startled look on her face: “What are you doing here?”  I was a little taken back and at a loss for words until I was saved by my perky sweetheart when she stuck her smiling face around her sister and simply laughed!  Then I quickly got it back together and nonchalantly said “Hi!” while she jumped through the doorway and gave me a hug!  (Boy… what I wouldn’t give for that hug today!)

I was getting the impression that Jesus put on that same “nonchalant” look upon His face following His resurrection on that first Easter morning, when He suddenly came upon the two Mary’s who were hurrying back to the Apostles in order to tell them about their experience with the angel and Jesus’ empty tomb.  The Message Bible records the incident saying, “Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. (and) They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him.” (Matthew 28:9) 

After seeing the angel at the empty tomb, the previous verse informs us that the two women, who were left deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb and literally ran to tell the disciples.  Then right in the middle of all their confusion and excitement… along comes Jesus who casually greets them with a very normal expression of “Good Morning!”

It was the simplicity of His greeting… as if nothing special or unique had happened, that stopped me in my tracks as I was studying the Easter story in my Bible yesterday morning.  Then it hit me… as far as Jesus was concerned… and the angel at the tomb for that matter as well… it wasn’t such a big deal… because they FULLY EXPECTED that the Word of God that Jesus had been sharing with His followers for three years… would come true!

Then it dawned on me… How else could Moses tell Joshua to not be afraid, or Joshua tell the tribes of Israel to not be afraid… or the angel tell Joseph, Mary, Zachariah, the shepherd’s and then Paul to you and me in 2 Timothy 1:7 to not be afraid of God’s Word not working for them?  These great individual examples of our faith were all totally sold-out to the fact of God’s Word working in all the situations of their lives… just as God says it will to you and me today!

But let me say… When I did my best to look and act nonchalantly to Piper after our two-week separation from each other, I was just acting!  Inside I was jumping up and down and could hardly wait to get the hug that she eventually gave me!  But in Jesus’ case, I really believe that while He was excited to be at that point following His death, burial and resurrection, that He was still quite calm and secure in His assurance that God’s Word had worked throughout man’s history, was still working as stated then and would continue until the end of eternity!

I am pretty certain that Jesus could not have done all that He did for you and me, if He was not solid in His very personal foundation of knowing How much the Father loved Him and therefore… would always be true to His Word… which according to Ephesians 3:17-20 is an exact duplication of the way the Father loves you and me today!  It is the same foundation of LOVE that should motivate us to fully believe His Word to be true and not… in any way, shape or form allow FEAR to enter in and steal our faith in Jesus and His written Word.

So… The next time you nonchalantly greet someone with a cheery “GOOD MORNING!” …Let me encourage you to think about how much YOU believe God’s Word to be TRUE in and for your life.  And, of course… in order to know if it is true or not for your life, you have to first know what God’s Word in your Bible says… right?

Have a terrific Easter week, and as you do… keep expecting God’s best!