Jesus and "Our Need-to-Know Faith"
Around my family, there is an accepted understanding about when someone "needs to know" about information that is only privy to a few. I always tease my wife and older daughter that it is wise they not know of some pertinent information until the very last moment because they have been guilty of sharing that information to others not on our "need-to-know" list at that moment.
Of course, at some point, all of us can become over-excited and want to share news, especially if it is good news. However, timing is everything, and sometimes we need that to be now!
Case in point... Brenda and I have always looked forward to the time when we would be grandparents. When it came time when our oldest daughter and son-in-law shared that we would be grandparents for the first time, we were told this is a "need-to-know" basis. In other words, don't tell friends. Don't post the announcement on Facebook, etc. until they were ready for it to be made public. This happened when they had our second grandchild, and now, my younger daughter and her husband instructed us to do the same thing when they announced their pregnancy over Labor Day weekend.
Needless to say, in each of those instances, it was really hard to keep those secrets until instructed it was okay to let others know our family's joy. We wanted to rush out into the streets shouting. Well, at least "rush onto Facebook and Instant Messenger" to share with family and friends the great news. Have you ever felt that angst in the midst of joy because you had to withhold the secret? You have got to tell somebody, and you cannot tell anybody.
In out text for this Sunday's message, Jesus, in Mark 13, puts the "kibosh" on the disciples' excitement about being in the grand Temple in Jerusalem. They come out of it sharing how much they admired the beauty of it, only to have Jesus say it was going to be destroyed later on.
Of course, that led to questions from the disciples as to when it was going to take place, but Jesus said that was "need-to-know" information that only God knew and they were not "read in" on that future information.
This Sunday we will see how this story impacts us in "our need-to-know" faith. It is for certain that God's timing is not always our timing. Perhaps, Jesus provides for us an important lesson about that. Join us this Sunday in worship as we reflect on the scriptures.
By the way — We are expecting our third grandchild in March — a girl. Papou, Yia Yia, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, and cousins are all excited.
Pastor Steve