Ezra 1:1-11; 1 Cor. 16:1-9; Matt. 12:15-21

The Bible is full of wonderful expressions of God on the Move.  We see this in the Exodus, with a God moving through the desert with his people.  But this theme continues.  Today, in Ezra, 1 Corinthians, and in Matthew, we see the same God at work!

The Persian King Cyrus is inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, and declares the captivity over, sending home the refugees to restore the temple.  Paul is on the move, making travel plans, and hoping he can do more than pass through Corinth on his next journey.  In Matthew it is a little more obvious, declaring “When Jesus became aware of this, he departed.”

“God on the move” is somewhat different than how most religions see things.  Unlike many of the pagan gods, who resided in golden calves or other objects, our God was above and beyond ritual object, elusive and uncontainable.

In the days of the Temple, God was thought to live there, but for most of Jewish and Christian existence, there has been no temple.  And yet, God was with them during their captivity in Egypt.  God was present throughout the Wilderness journey.  God was directing things in Babylon and preparing a way back.

In the New Testament, we hear in marvelous new ways in which God is on the move.  God has come to earth, and is walking amongst us.  The Son of God travels even to the Decapolis, a place of ten Gentile cities, where greed and commerce reign supreme.  It was considered dirty places for any good Jew to go.  And yet Jesus went.

Then Jesus’ followers traveled to all parts of the world.  Paul went not only to Corinth, but to many places where no Jews or Christians lived.

The message to us is becoming clear: God is coming to you!  You do not need to seek God out anymore to have a “God experience”.  God will find you if you don’t find God.

And we are a part of that story!  We pick up where Paul left off.  And we have some of the same work as Paul, Ezra, the Twelve Disciples, or even Moses had – to lead God’s people into the joyous embrace of a Loving God who found us long before we went looking for him.

Where is God in your life today?  How do you see God walking beside you and guiding you through life’s travails?

-Matt