Awaiting God

It is early Saturday morning here in LA. It has been a 'wow' week that will be remembered for many years to come. My reflections saw my mind drift towards the wonder of this God I love - God who is one, the God who is three, the three who are all equally God.

At the same time, there is a storm brewing around Hawkin's book that declares that gravity can "make something from nothing". A call to a fresh apologetic response to the New Atheists is also on our radar. Loving the Lord with all our mind does require an intentional intellectual call to what Tim Keller call "presuppositional apologetics".

However this morning I want to suggest a different call. This is a call to a new divine visitation. Our redemptive narrative has shown a story of God breaking into project planet earth. For two thousand years, we have seen this breaking in, in many forms and shapes. Invariably, God surprises us. Rarely does he visit with us in a way that we expect. May I suggest that this will be true this time round again?

The trinity reflects a "unity in diversity" that is courageous and surprising. God who is one, consistently calls us reflect a journey of unity in true Biblical authenticity. It is not a sentimental one forged by feelings, nor is it a structural one fashioned by institutions. The unity the Bible speaks of Jesus requests that "they are one even as we are one" and then Paul announces it this way: "

Ephesians 4

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

I wonder if the next move of God will be more miraculous than signs, wonders and miracles. I wonder if the next divine visitation will not be seen by shakings, manifestations and tongues. I wonder if the next God encounter will not be fiercely individualistic and self-centered. Could it be that God will bring a Spirit of Unity? According to this text, this move of God could be evidenced with massive humility, sharpened respect, hastened patience. Could it be that the heavenly bell will toll for a "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"? It will not be highly structural nor massively organized. It probably will not be built around celebrities nor super studs. I suspect we will see more of the trinitarian partnership in this coming move of God than we have tended to acknowledge is in the Biblical text. Unity will be spoken of with due reverence and respect. This will not be a cause of the few and the naive. It will be the evidence of a triune God revealing himself to a fragmented world. Then we will realize that the "more" we so often long for is actually realized in Him, who is three, yet perfectly one.

Amazingly, some will be angered by this. Others will be disappointed and say it is not a 'move of God' at all. Others in turn will again default to their denominational territories that they will defend passionately. But then again, maybe I am wrong. Even now, come Lord Jesus.