Over the next few weeks families will gather together for the holidays. I always looked forward to these family events as a kid. It was often the only time I saw my aunts, uncles, cousins, extended relatives during the year. Lots of hugs, lots of kisses, lots of craziness, lots of celebration, lots of eating always accompanied these gatherings. Stories are swapped. Kids run through the house. Laughter fills the rooms. What great fun. I miss those family reunions.
Joel describes a family reunion of sorts in Chapter 2. He's calling His people to return to Him. The invitations go out calling people from the various aspects of life to join the reunion celebration. There's going to be feasting, laughter, tears, renewal, and release.
Family reunions are fun in part because we get away from our daily routines, pressures, grind, etc. Most of us are so caught up in the details of life that we kind of forget our family relationships. We lose our communication and connection with our loved ones. Sure we talk on the phone, email, message them, but we lose the personal connection of face to face interaction. The train is bustling along, the scenery passing by in almost a blur and life is going a hundred miles an hour. The train never slows down. The only way off? Jump.
I think that happens to us in our relationship with God. We're zipping along on the train of life and we can't seem to get off. It's easy to lose track of Him. The more we lose track the farther we get from God and our ties with Him. Pretty soon, we forget He's a part of our life. We show up at church for Christmas or Easter for a quick stop and then it's back on the train. It feels good when we do stop, but that feeling is fleeting. There's no real connection with God because we've got our eye on the train getting ready to leave the station.
God invites us to His family reunion. Pull the stop cord. Jump if you have too. Just get off the train. Some have translated the concept of repentance as "come to your senses." I like God's call here in Joel, "return to me." Experience His grace and forgiveness and compassion and love and protection and presence.
The Holiday season is upon us. It can be frantic and stressful in and of itself. The good news is that when we return to God's family reunion we don't have to get a lot of stuff together first. We just come. The only gift He really wants is you. Show up. Drop everything else and join Him.
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