This week end there was a ripple of excitement throughout the Kyle family because Ben was singing a couple of songs at Ringo’s 79th birthday party. Prophetically named, there is only one Ringo, and he remains – a Starr. You can add your view of the performance to the 79.9 thousand others on Ringo’s Facebook page!
Under the instagram photo above of Ben and Ringo is a fun comment by Josie, a friend of ours. Having lived with us for a year we have personally experienced this lady’s true ‘prophetic’ gift. She could also now be considered ‘famous’ ….not because she ‘stars’ on “The Elijah List” but because God speaks through her works of art which she generously shares with 466,000 followers on Instagram!
On Sunday at our fellowship circle we again consider together what it means for Jesus to live in obscurity for 30 years. Bonnie Gaunt’s book “The Dawn of Earth’s Great Millennium” has sparked a conversation. People in the circle of ‘truth seekers’ share, not opinions, but ‘signs and wonders’ as Simeons and Annas who can see and hear how truths from the book have, and continue to play out in their lives.
“So how should we live then as the body of Christ in this season of obscurity?” becomes the focus of the conversation.
Last week I described ‘wisdom’ as becoming one with the Father. The other growth in Jesus, our head, that is mentioned in Luke 2 is to do with the ‘grace’ in Him and toward him. The Greek word “charis” means “to lean toward… to bless”.
With 6 month old Luke visiting us at the moment (with his mum and dad of course) this leaning toward…to bless one another, that our Dad wants with each of us his children, is our daily experience with our latest grandson.
We continue to read how this growth in Jesus happens as he simply goes back home and places himself under his earthly mother and father, not resisting but surrendering daily to his heavenly Father in the acceptance of the ordinariness and order of life as a human being.
We finish our circle by encouraging one another as we sing,
“He who has called you
Is faithful and He will do
All He has promised to
In you……..”
…..then we all troop downstairs, and around the dinner table share another hilarious meal. The conversation often goes to food with banter between those currently eating carnivore, ketogenic, OMAD or ‘regular American.’
Part of our 1 Thess.5:23,24 calling is to help people toward ‘soundness in body’, so processed foods and sugar is a rarity. Yesterday however some gigantic M ‘n’ M cookies did show up. (M ‘n’ Ms are like Smarties for my UK readers) As ‘regular American’ Brian munched on one of them I said,
“Brian, you’ve got to sing your M and M song.”
….and so the whole Rupe family gave us a rendering of the song that has made Dad famous…. at least in the YMCA Family Camp circles where he was Camp Director. Daughter Amy described how at one camp the hysterical teenagers would rush the stage after Brian gave his usual C+ rendering of
M ‘n’ Ms that spells Mmmm
Mmm is the sound that you make when you eat ’em
When I die…
Bury me in M ‘n’ Ms
I recalled how earlier in life Brian had thought to best serve God would involve his going overseas as a missionary, or at least serving at home as a pastor. Receiving a wise word from his earthly father had him change course, a change that has impacted many young lives, not just through his rendering of the M ‘n’ M song : – ) but through his ‘apostolic’ gift facilitating a ‘Family Camp Culture’ that enabled the young campers to sample ‘the kingdom of God’ for a couple of weeks in the summer at a critically formative time in their lives.
I believe there will come The Great Reversal at The Great White Throne when many current Somebodies will become Nobodies and Nobodies become Somebodies, as we are awakened to see beyond the falseness of a success measured in “Bigness” of Numbers, Names and Noises. Then judging justly the (mostly) hidden faithful servants like Ben, Josie and Brian (and their even more hidden spouses) will receive their reward from the most successful man who ever lived. He never wrote book, recorded a song, sent an email, made a phone call, rode in a car, or wrote a blog. At the end of his life he had only a few ‘followers’ clustered at the foot of a cross where in unity with his Father he in ”wisdom and grace’ with total success, redeemed the whole of creation.
I look up to read on our well worn ‘Oswald’ calendar his thought for us today:
