For Righteousness

My brother Sam and I were just boys when we first experienced London\’s Heathrow airport. I was four and Sam was seven. It was the 80s when airports were void of temperature scanning devices, armed soldiers, and barricaded drop-off zones. They were, however, still full of excitement, albeit a very different kind of excitement. In those days drop-offs included families with picnic lunches in tow and pickups carried every element short of a marching band to parade loved ones home. On that day, as we walked through the grand arrival hall at Heathrow, we realized that London seemed globally central to the excitement of it all.

When you are four, you have to look up. In the arrival hall, the world swirled together in an upward bazaar of intermingled culture and emotion. Through our own two sons, Jess and I have witnessed how four-year-old boys process and perform. We have a peak performing six-year-old at home named Rocco who has taught us the extreme methods of this God-given system and we delight in watching him make up his mind and move accordingly. Through them, we have learned that each process produces a performance whose gathered responses decode a myriad of potential next possible performances.  I can remember bits of my own process that day in Heathrow when I was only four.

The greatest bit was a \”chance\” encounter with Mother Teresa. From the various parades of people emerged a much larger parade that seemed to pull all other parades into it. My father fought the crowd to position us in the front row as the Saint\’s service crew re-aligned the crowd to make way. Every tribe and tongue in that building seemed to stop and gather close to witness her. It was glorious!

She stopped next to Sam and I, turned and came to us, blessed us and carried on with the parade. My process parts thought, \”What was that all about?!\” as my performance parts smiled and certainly tucked back to mom and dad for security.

I later learned that she had come to London following her appointment to the Order of Merit issued by Queen Elizabeth, which the National Post describes as the \”most prestigious honour one can receive on planet earth.\” The Order consists of only 24 living people who have been selected by the Sovereign Crown. I wonder how it felt for the other Order members to witness her deflect the glory of that position and redirect all glory to God? I do know that she reflected His glory in Heathrow as she stopped the parade to take a moment to pray for two little boys, undoubtedly in response to their Father\’s persuasion. 

Last week I asked friends to pray for America and the UK. I asked people to stand up for righteousness on the earth. I asked where today\’s Mother Teresas were. Who exactly am I looking for to stand together for righteousness today? What will they look like and what will they sound like? As I pray, I can see one of you running to the gritty gutters of India to pick up a dying child with leprosy because you believe they will be healed in your arms. Another one of you is publicly objecting to domination, caste structure, idol worship, and even the systems within your own religion that bound or imprisoned unjustly. Another one of you is being invited to stand with kings and queens and choosing to reflect the same exact impartial glory that God placed on Mother Teresa\’s face. You are ending abortion. You are ending wars. You are rescuing children from brothels. You are giving your clothes and homes to the desperate living on your streets. You are HOPE revealed in Jesus Christ and you are partakers of the Glory of God on earth.

Over the next several days, we will have an opportunity to stand up for righteousness in America and in the United Kingdom and take part in the sovereign calling of God within us as well as His perfect purpose for our lives. We will be able to stand in Him as His glory reflects from us to change lives and nations. What Mother Teresa offered my brother and I that morning was not silver or gold, it wasn’t an selfie, and it wasn\’t a political agenda, it was prayer. So I offer this prayer to you today and ask you to offer it for America and the UK:

God, I will not doubt your mighty power working within me to accomplish all of this. You will achieve infinitely more than my greatest request, my wildest dreams, and far exceed my expectations. You will outdo them all for your mighty power which constantly energizes me. Prepare my heart and mind for action today. Keep me alert and fix my hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to me as the love of Jesus Christ is unveiled through me to those in need. Cause me to stand in the calling for my life to change the world around me for good. AMEN.

If you prayed that prayer then know that you are not alone and you have real friends here at SEAPC who are ready to stand with you and serve you along the way. Stay connected, united, focused, and unwavering as the Lord leads us onward in truth.