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It was early just before sunrise on a day full of errands. I sat listening to the stillness. Blissful. Then I heard the Lord say, “Get ready to lurch forward.’

His presence dripped on these words. Hope, movement were so tangible as He spoke. And with that the day began. 

It wasn’t long into the busy morning and my attention was caught by these words from a podcast, 

“We live in an age of vanishing cultures, perhaps even vanishing nations. To be a Frenchman, an American is a limited notion. Educated people do not practice local customs or eat local food. Produces are flown around the world. We are loosing diversity..” (Mark Callanski, The Basque History of the World.)

I immediately resonated with these words having just recently been in France/Europe.

How do these words resonate with you? Do they witness with what you are seeing in your own culture and nation?

Mark Callanski’s words reminded me of a series Tim Horman recently gave on discerning the times we live in with wisdom, grace and truth. 

Tim reflected, “We live in a Postmodern moment that de-constructions the meta narratives. Postmodernism suggests we need a plaurality of truths and knowledges. Such Critical Theory is all about de-constructing, it has no vision for constructing. We can’t build a culture on these ideas because everything just falls apart.”

Never more than now does it feel so distinctly opposite as a follower of Jesus. Yet as the morning sun rose, his voice asserted, “You are getting ready to lurch forward’

So different to “you are being deconstructed and erased.”

We are of a different kingdom. As “strangers and foreigners on this earth” (Hebrew 11:13) we carry a hope and different vision for humanity; a vision that redeems, builds up and transforms us. (2 Cor 3:18)

We are being prepared to lurch forward and as we go, restore value and dignity to others with compassion and mercy.  

Such a moment came in the life of Jesus. “What compassion he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. (Matt 9:36)

The word compassion is derived from the Latin words pati and cum, meaning “to suffer with”.

This was about to be next level literal for Jesus. The cross was not far away. He wasn’t there as a spectator, cynic or critic. He approached the culture of his day with humility, seeking to build others up, offering his life to serve. 

WHAT IS GOD PREPARING?

For the last few weeks I have had a rib out of alignment. It has been a process with my Osteopath. The other day he said an interesting thing. He said, “We are getting better results now as I have worked in a certain way to interrupt the pattern your rib was in. By going hard in one area, we have disrupted it and now the rib is learning to go back and stay in its designed place.”

As we prepare to lurch forward, God is interrupting our current ways and thinking, to equip us with new ways, better ways.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “I’ve always found that mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice.”

In His mercy, He is moving us from self protection to compassion. From shielding ourselves by turning to judgement or going into fix it mode as we see human vulnerability and confusion. He is teaching us the art of compassion that sits with others in grace, clear boundaries and accountability.

He is addressing the “rage-blame-too-tired-and-busy-to-follow-through” mindset that feeds self-righteous anger and low compassion.

Mercy and compassion incarnate is birthing. The lurch forward is imminent