as i type this i can hear thunder from a storm rolling through our city. the last couple days have been filled with storms and rain.
thunder is amazing. the percussion in the air during a lightning storm is loud and peace-shattering. when it thunders, the air rumbles through our city shaking dishes, waking dogs to bark, and frightening little children. thunder is unsettling. it’s forewarning a coming storm. winds and rain are soon to follow … and everything just might get messed up.
thunder is an awe-inspiring auditory event that everyone in a community experiences. you can be blocks away from a friend and both have your home shaken by the rumbling of the thunder as it passes through.
as a middle-schooler i memorized the definition of thunder:
thunder is the result of a rapid expansion of the gas that surrounds the extreme heat of a lightening bolt (up to 28,000 degrees celsius).
when i think that Jesus said that He would rather us to be hot or cold (Rev. 3:15), i’m reminded that extreme hot and cold both cause reactions. thunder is simply a reaction to the extreme heat of a lightening strike.
what kind of reaction is Jesus causing in your life? if you’re not close to the heat, you’re not going to have a reaction, and Jesus is the catalyst to the best reactions.
at times it’s good for Jesus to come rumbling through our lives, shaking things up. most often, that thunder precedes a storm. thunder is a warning that gets our attention. we know we must seek shelter when it comes rumbling through. in the same way, when those shock-waves come rumbling through our lives, we need to seek shelter and return to Jesus through confession and repentance.
it would change our lives if we could live with this understanding:
jesus is the lightening, and we are the thunder.
so, let’s get a little closer to Jesus, and see what kind of reaction He creates in us.