The Unpredictable Life

Walking with Christ is full of the unpredictable.  To read the gospels record which tells us the stories of those who heeded the Words, "Come and see,"   (John 1:39) is to see men who learned to live with holy surprises.  So many of their inhibitions were overcome as they became travelling apostles, so many of their prejudices were challenged as they encountered Samaritans and the sick, and  so many of their religious notions about God were pulled out from under them so they could see a bigger, more loving, and more forgiving God.  If they expected a trip like they were experiencing with John the Baptist as their spiritual guide, they were surely disappointed.  

Life with Christ is always an unpredictable walk.  So many of the things we thought were nailed down as the tried and true things about God often end up being pulled out from under us.  But, perhaps, the most surprising thing for us is the way following Him takes us not into places filled with quiet peace, but into those places where turmoil and darkness come with overcoming power.  Many a soul has wandered off the way set forth by Christ because it did not look like the expected and anticipated spiritual landscape.  

What we often forget is that the promise is for presence on the journey.  Jesus did not fail to remind those who set out after Him that it was a hard way, a way that would tempt folks to find another one that was easier and more predictable.  To follow Jesus as a disciple is to turn lose control and to put the power of control in the hands of Christ.  When we choose to follow, we go not to a determined destination or goal, but wherever whenever.  To embrace such a life with Christ can be nothing but unpredictable.