Keep Your Ear on the Rail
MARCH 2023
KEEP YOUR EAR ON THE RAIL
In the small country church, I grew up in, we never practiced the liturgy of Advent and Lent. Oh, we looked forward to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, yet, it wasn’t until my adult years, that I was introduced to these two wonderful seasons of Christ. I love Christmas; however, I am drawn to Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday as it appeals to my penitential spirit, in a season of repentance and renewal. Over 40 days, I am seeking to return my whole heart to God, as I focus on readings, prayer and reflection and then a weekly connecting with another sojourner to process what we are hearing from God. It is a time of listening and waiting. This year, I anticipating what God wants to teach me.
I have previously shared about a marvellous discovery my friend Jim and I made in our small town of Echo Bay, Ontario. We found that by laying down beside the tracks and placing an ear on the rail, we could hear an approaching train, usually when it was still 20 minutes out. It was intriguing to place a penny on the rail and later collect a very flattened copper after the train had passed.
Though we could not see the train, we sensed it was coming. We listened, waited and anticipated and yes, it always came.
That story captures how I am orientating myself for this 40-day journey of Lent, this year. Let me share what my waiting is focusing on this year, as I keep my ear on the rail. All of us have been chosen to wait as we live between the “already, though not yet”. Here are eight thoughts for you to reflect on
Already is our world broken by sin, but not yet has it been made new again
Already has Jesus come, but not yet has he returned to take us home
Already is my sin forgiven, but not yet have I been fully delivered from it
Already Jesus reigns, but not yet has His final Kingdom come
Already has sin been defeated, but not yet has it been completely destroyed
Already do I have the Holy Spirit living within me, but not yet have I been perfectly formed into the likeness of Jesus
Already do I have God’s Word, but not yet has it totally transformed my life
Already do I have God’s wonderful grace, but not yet has that grace finished its work in me.
Yes, as I listen to my ear on the rail, I can sense the vibration of the “but not yet”. Jesus is coming and He is building His Kingdom. And it begins with you and me.
What God has begun, He will finish; never doubt this and so we act, listen, wait and anticipate during this interim, already, but not yet time.
As one author writes, “Waiting on God is an action based on confident assurance of grace to come.”
As I look at world events, I see a movement of the Holy Spirit among believers (and there is an increasing desire for more of His Spirit). I hear of people in third-world countries coming to Jesus in mass numbers. With my ear on the rail, I sense the “not yet” time coming to fruition.
Let me encourage you to live in light of Heaven and the return of our Redeemer. I feel the vibration in the rail and know it is soon.
Have your ear on the rail.
Bruce
