WOW – does our culture ever live for surprises – in fact I believe one of the foundations of entertainment in this country is SURPRISE. We tune into reality shows because they are unpredictable. . . it is the fact that we don’t know what is going to happen. . . that drives us to see what actually happens. Whether it is the mind bending movie of Inception or the twisted trail traveled in Lost – Americans live for surprises in stories, in fact we wait in suspense all week – reading blogs, tweets, and facebook updates from others- just anticipating the possible storylines that could occur in the next episode. In essence, the amount of surprise and unpredictability is directly related to how interesting something is. . . . and quantities of interest is the currency of entertainment.

Does this concern anyone?? It does me for several reasons, but I will only focus on one right now.

Flat out. . . when was the last time the Bible surprised you?? I mean. . . . many of us already know the stories. . . we know what is going to happen. . . there is always a rainbow after the flood. Many times I feel like the church focuses so much on memorizing that they forget to help feed the desire that we all have for surprises. . . . they forget to remind us that the Bible is the living Word. . . capable of being fresh and new every day! 

I have been really affected recently about how many Christians are no longer surprised by what they read in the Bible – as if already knowing the story limits God’s ability to speak to them in a fresh and new way. So whether they are teens or adults – of course they are going to think that the Bible is boring, stale, and not relevant.  But, they are missing out, and we need to tell them of the surprises, help them become more interested - For example, John 2:15 really surprises me – and not because Jesus is getting really mad and clearing the temple (though surprising to some who never heard this – I already knew the story!), but in the details of story that I had never realized before. . . . . Jesus made a whip . . . . He did not borrow a whip. He did not buy a whip. No. . . . He made a whip. Since when did my savior know how to make a whip. . . . remember He was a carpenter – not a lot of need for whip making.

Not only did He make a whip – he obviously made one that was in good quality (considering He used it quite extensively), and He had to have made it quickly (since He was already mad, and had not cooled off yet – we all do things very quickly when we are this upset). In addition, HE KNEW HOW TO USE A WHIP – - – - have you ever tried to move a cow?? yeah, not easy – much less countless numbers of people doing their normal business, but the scripture says that he drove everything from cattle to merchants out of the temple courtyard – translation. . . . He was using a mean whip. WOW – Jesus had to have had practiced all of these things – from whip making to knowing how to use it. . . . . well, I just had never pictured Jesus doing that . . . . I guess we know one thing that He did before His ministry started at 30. 

As I sat in my chair thinking about all of this – it just really surprised me, and in that “didn’t see that coming” thought. . . . Jesus became more real to me. . . a new point of human connection. . . I always wanted to be able to play with a whip ever since I first saw Indiana Jones!!!  What a surprise, and I wanted more – - – interested?? Try this - I want to encourage all of us to pray “God surprise me” before reading scripture in the next few days. This process has really encouraged me as of late, and so I wanted to pass it along to you.

go . . . live. . . and be surprised by the God who created surprises!