You are here
WHAT IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY?: Acts 1
By Ted Schroder,
July 26, 2015
In a recent interview Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day and recently The Buried Giant admitted that when he was younger and writing his first novels he believed that if you got your principles right early in your life, which set your coordinates for your future, that they would guide you to successfully navigate the rest of your life. But now he realizes that life is more complex and that you have less control over it than you thought. What you hoped for does not always turn out as you planned and imagined. Events occur which change your circumstances. You can see it in politicians who run for office with certain goals and agendas. Then something happens over which they have no control and the rest of their term they are having to respond to another agenda. Or you may marry someone whom you thought would be a life partner and they treat you badly. Or you unexpectedly lose a loved one whom you thought would always share your life. Each of us have certain expectations of our lives that we want to see fulfilled and completed, but we find ourselves faced with new challenges over which we have no control and we have to stumble along, doing our best, with the resources we are given. Our lives do not always turn out as we had hoped and planned.
In the books of Acts we find a group of 120 people who, despite time spent with Jesus, were not clear of what their future would be. Some had accompanied Jesus three years. After his resurrection Jesus spent forty days with his chosen apostles giving them instructions through the Holy Spirit. He spoke to them about the kingdom of God: that in him God had come to restore his relationship with all people. This is the great need of humanity. Emil Brunner wrote, "The central point of the misery of the world should be sought in the realm of man's personal relation to God." (The Mediator, p.531) He gave them this command: "Wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Despite all his instruction the apostles had preconceived ideas of what the kingdom of God would look like. They asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" In other words they hoped that he would throw out the Roman authorities so that they could introduce their own political agenda. They were still thinking that the Gospel of Jesus was about a social, economic and political revolution, the building of the kingdom of God on earth. Now the Bible is clear that there is a need for social, economic and political programs, but Jesus was not recruiting this group of people for that purpose. Their ideas of their future, their expectations for their lives, were going to be radically different from what was going to eventuate.
All of us have certain goals for our lives. Through our education and careers we seek to fulfill our financial and relational expectations. We strive to provide for ourselves and our families, to make successes of our lives and our loved ones, so that we may be able to end our lives with a sense of accomplishment. This is the American Dream. Yet, life happens. Interruptions, accidents and tragedies occur. Relationships sour. Marriages fail. Children go off the rails. The business climate changes. We lose our jobs. Our investments prove inadequate. Our health is affected. Loved ones die and we are left facing old age alone. We suffer from depression and anxiety. Or we are wildly successful but are miserable and unhappy.
The apostles did not know what would befall them. They thought one thing, and Jesus told them another. "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
It is not for you to know what is going to happen in the world. Governments will come and go. Nations will rise and fall. Your task is to witness to me no matter what happens. You may make plans but circumstances change. Man proposes but God disposes. You need to be open to the Spirit who will give you your order of the day.
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will we will live and do this or that.'" (James 4:13-15)
The apostles needed to wait until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit and the direction of the Lord. They needed to be in constant touch with the Lord through his Spirit so that they could receive the revelation of his Word.
After giving them his Word the Lord ascended into heaven and they were assured by the angels that he would return for them in the same manner. They returned to Jerusalem and Peter decided that they needed to organize themselves. It is so much easier to take action and do something that we think is important than being obedient to the Lord. We hear the story of what happened to Judas. He had betrayed Jesus and ended up taking his own life in despair. Peter wanted to fill the vacancy left in their leadership. They prayed for guidance, cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias. Whether this was what they should have done is debatable. Matthias is not heard of again. There are those who contend that they acted prematurely, impatiently needing to fill the position while they waited for the coming of the Spirit. God had another apostle in mind whom he was going to call: Saul of Tarsus, who would be known as St. Paul.
God's purposes for our lives will only be revealed to us as they happen. We think that we are in control, and we try to influence future events by our actions, but often we fail to understand our roles. We stumble along as in the dark only seeing ahead as far as the light illuminates. We need the fire of the presence of the Lord and the wind of his power to guide us and to encourage us. His Word and his angels will give us our marching orders of the day as we need them. In this way we are kept dependent on the Lord. We stay open to his Spirit.
Ishiguro's novels often end without any sense of resolution. The story of his characters end on a note of melancholic resignation. They realize their failures, and seek comfort and an ending to mental anguish. His latest novel, The Buried Giant, follows the journey of an elderly couple to find their son's grave and their own. They face many dangers, including the loss of their memories, conflict between ethnic groups, demonic forces, and changing times. The Buried Giant is a symbol of death and forgetfulness which haunts all of Ishiguro's novels. We need the reassurance that "Our Savior Christ Jesus has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10).
The apostles could not have known their future. Between the resurrection of Jesus and Pentecost they did not know what was going to happen. They could not have foreseen what would required of them to be witnesses to Jesus to the ends of the earth. All that they were commanded to do was to be open to the coming of the Spirit who would give them their orders of the day.
We do not know our future. We do not know what will happen to our lives. We cannot foresee what is required of us to be witnesses to Jesus. All that we are commanded to do is to be open to the Spirit speaking to us through His Word the orders for this day. And we will receive his direction if we are open to the Spirit. In this way the kingdom of God will be in us and through us.
(Ted's blog is to be found at www.tedschroder.com )
