Interruption Or Invitation?

By Pr Evangeline Cheong

It was a notification on a phone that informed all at the meeting about the sad news of a famous actor’s death. The owner of the phone apologized for the interruption to the camp meeting agenda. But was it really an interruption? 

In the midst of the busyness of the matters at hand, whether you are planning camp, studying for exams, finishing a project, doing projects, or just living life, news of a death of someone near or far, can feel like an interruption.

Yet it was also an invitation for me to think about life and consider the greater things beyond the issues at the meeting. As condolences poured out on social media and news reports, I found myself thinking about many different things: 

§  Shall I watch some episodes of “Friends” this week? 

§  How many will be thinking about death and dying this week after this news?

§  Did this actor know Jesus before he died?

§  Noticed that death doesn’t distinguish between those famous and those unknown. 

§  How does the good news of Jesus Christ affect how I think about fame and death?

§  Thankful that Jesus has truly through His death bought victory over sin and death for those who are called God’s children.

§  How can I reach out to the neighbor’s kid who lost her mom last week? What hope can I bring to her as a friend?

Jesus told us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) How can we think about the world in gospel terms so that we can preach it into the news that surrounds us today?

We can start by letting the news invite us to ponder the gospel message. What was on the news this week that interrupted your life? In the next 5 minutes, consider these questions and don’t lose the opportunity to hear from God in this interruption. 

§  What kinds of questions does that raise for you? 

§  What does God show you about Himself? 

§  What does God think about that piece of news? 

§  What is God inviting you to do in His work in the world? It could be to find out more about that topic, person. It could be to do something about the issue. It could simply be prayed for those involved. 

Let God who is working in the world around us today invite you out of the mundane of life into His life-giving work.