The wild rumpus just ended at my house.
Before a game of living room football.
After a game of living room football.
Pop Pop is all time quarterback, Asher and Lucas switch offense and defense. Lucas of course has to Odell Beckham a catch or two, because the living room is such an obvious place to play tackle football.
And then of course there is the classic American Ninja Warrior living room style.
Now let’s put them all together and let the wild rumpus start.
Do you wonder where the wild things are? I found them.
“It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him! The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth. And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.’””
Luke 3:1-6 NLT
Around 27 A.D. there rose up another type of wildling. His name was John the Baptist, and he made his home in the wilderness of Judea. The first four letters of wilderness form the word “wild,” and that is where the Word of God came to John. He himself was not quite tame. His look characterized the wilderness around him. His clothes were made from camel hair and he had a leather belly bag cinched around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. John was an intimidating person who felt more at home in the great outdoors than in the formal dining rooms of the Jewish hierarchy.
And yet, God’s word came to John. God had a job for John of the wilderness. He spoke to John in the place where the wild things are.
The theme of this post came from the wild rumpus at my house this morning.
God can speak to us in the quiet or in the noise of our lives, in the desert places, dry places, wildernesses, and wastelands. These are the landscapes of our lives, and God is with us wherever we abide, even in the lonely desolate places. If we allow it, God can use these landscapes to prepare us for our next adventure. I have called them wastelands, but nothing is wasted in God’s Kingdom.
We may feel as if we are on the backside of the desert, but God can find us anywhere. God can use us in the most barren area of our lives. God leads us through our wildernesses. He carries us as we travel the wastelands, and our badlands are not out of His reach.
Questions
Waypoints to your destination:
Do you feel like you are in a desert place?
Where did John hear the Word of the Lord?
What can you do to get your eyes off the barren wastelands and onto the Lord?