out there

Wednesday April 10^th, John 20: 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  I don’t know if this is an accurate description of what happened.  If the disciples were hiding behind locked doors in fear, and if Jesus came and stood among them and showed them his hands and feet, I would think there may have been even more fear than before mixed in with that joy at seeing the Lord.  I get more of the picture of someone hiding in a dark room and having someone tap them on the shoulder and saying “Boo.”  Before you can experience joy, you need to get the heart down out of your throat and working again.  Hiding behind locked doors or behind our church walls is not an option with Jesus.  The mission is never behind the locked doors, it is in the highways and byways, in the work place and at the gym.  The kingdom is out there, not in here.  And yes, every encounter with someone out there will bring about change, change in their hearts, change in the world around them, and change in your heart and change in the world around you.  God’s love is ever dynamic and alive, never stagnant, pietistic and pure.