Today’s chapter is Matthew 11.

Tom writes:

When the builder rubs his chin and says “this is going to take a lot longer than you thought” you wonder whether you’ve called the wrong tradesman. That’s what John the Baptist was going through. He was expecting an extreme makeover with instant results and he was getting… well, something else. This, my friends, is a perfect illustration of the theology of the Now and the Not Yet of the Kingdom. What John wanted, and what people always want from God, is an instant assertion of his transforming greatness upon a situation; ripping out all that is wrong and whacking it in the skip. Then, in the same weekend, an unveiling of a glamorously upgraded “house of our dreams” in its place. Like leaving our job as a cleaner to be appointed the next day as a Non-Exec Director of Dettol. But God doesn’t do it like that… much to John’s befuddlement.

Of course, the reason God doesn’t do it like that - the reason Jesus didn’t just clap his hands and release an instant makeover of the world - is that people get hurt that way and people get proud that way. Instead, painstakingly and persistently Jesus brings a chance at transformation to people. Piece by piece the Kingdom Comes. A leper- who would have been out in the skip - can have glimmering skin instead. A blind man and a bleeding woman and some poor overlooked people get to experience the Kingdom Transformation in their lives. So do some tax collectors and Very Bad People who would certainly have been ripped out if the transformation had been instant. But not all people get the transformation. As was always expected, some will indeed be removed and sent away. Just not yet. Not yet. And not at all if they choose repentance and take on the yoke of Christ. We live in the age of invitation. The age when Jesus approaches people full of bad intent and rather than ripping them straight out he rubs his chin and says “well this is going to take a lot longer than you thought”.

Question for reflection

What is Jesus doing in your life that is taking longer than you would have thought? Why do you think that is?

Matthew 11 - Monday 19th August