By David Wise
Sometimes the most important lessons in life come from people you least expect them to come from.
Sometimes the most important lessons in life come at a time when you are the least expectant.
And sometimes they come when you think that you are the teacher, that you are the one who’ll be giving the lesson.
You see, sometimes we think we know what the outcome will be and learn about real love from those around us.
Once upon a time a soldier who had been missing in action and presumed dead was finally released and came home. He was sure his wife and children had forgotten about him, so long had he been presumed dead.
He wondered whether it would be a good idea not to go home. He would simply cause stress and strain in a family that had long ago given up on him.
His children would be pretty well grown up. His wife might have fallen in love with someone else, and who could blame her, if she thought her husband was dead.
But the government said he had to go home, at least at first. He had been away so long he wasn’t sure how to act in America or how to greet his family. He didn’t think they would recognize him or that he would recognize them. He was terrified at the prospect of finally coming home, because home wouldn’t be what it used to be and never could be that again.
So, when the plane landed and he got off, everyone in the family rushed to hug him and kiss him and welcome him back. In a week or two it was like he’d never been away. His family had never let him go.
That’s the way that God loves us. It doesn’t matter how long we have been away or how far off the path we have wandered; God remains faithful to us.
When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, he knew the time had come. It was time for him and God to be glorified. Even knowing that soon he would be crucified, it wasn’t for himself that he prayed but rather for those he was leaving behind.
He wanted them to know that the time is always now to glorify God. The time starts not when we are older or sometime off in the future. The time begins when we are born and continues for how many days we are given.
How often have you gone to give comfort and support and strength and come away feeling as though you were the one who was ministered to? How often can you recall having a situation when you thought you were in charge, only to learn some great lesson in life from one you would have deemed the least likely?
It isn’t some strange coincidence. Rather, it is God speaking to you through whatever vehicle He can.
On that night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed. He prayed the glory belonging to God would be realized — in this hour and in every hour. He prayed that his disciples may be unified, that they may be one. That they and we can have a love for our brothers and sisters that transcends national origin, race or creed or color. That we can love as Christ loved.
That we would open our hearts to taking the lessons we learn and passing them on to others. That we’d find ways every day to glorify the God who loves us so much he was willing to send his only Son.
There are so many lessons to learn. If we take nothing else away, let us learn there is a God who loves us so much. A love that comes to us without any qualification. A love that is unconditional. A love that never fails and continues to wait for us.
A love that can be found in the open arms of a family unseen for so many years.
A love that calls out your name each and every day.
The Rev. David Wise is pastor of Otterbein United Methodist Church in Greenfield. This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
