This Time, Pay Attention!

In spite of all the talk in many Christian circles these days of everything being “pre-determined”, there is plenty of Biblical evidence that somehow, someway, it’s possible to miss a moment of God’s coming to us. I am often haunted by the scene, sketched so beautifully by Luke, in which Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem, riding on a colt, and in spite if the shouts of “hosanna!,” Jesus weeps over Jerusalem’s failure to pay attention. “…you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:41-44, TNIV)

It’s not that we don’t pay attention at all. We are the most attentive culture ever. We are always paying attention to something, and surely there are plenty of things grabbing and jostling for our attention. The problem is that we don’t pay attention to the “right” things. We are immersed in information, yet, we constantly miss the things that make for life. This truth was again apparent to me just recently as I reflected on planting a new church in a suburban area. As I’ve met people and observed their lives (I, too, am a suburbanite), I’ve noticed at how attentive suburbanites are. Cell phones, laptops, CNN, ESPN, satellite radio… the list goes on and on with hundreds of tools at our disposal so that we can stay tuned into what’s the latest and most pressing. Yet, I’ve asked myself over and over again, “As a pastor in this place, how can I get secular-minded, striving-for-success-safety-and-security-minded suburbanites to pay attention to their souls?” How can I get them to “unplug” from their information resources long enough to get plugged into real life and real purpose and not miss God presence and impending blessings?

Like me, you’ve probably missed some special God-moments before. Maybe you, too, “fell asleep” in the details of busyness. God is coming again. This time, pay attention!