"Surprise!" A word that has a life-changing experience attached to it. When you are coming home from a hard day at work. A day in which no one appreciated the fact that it was your birthday. Your boss was horrible, your co-workers were frustrating, and you make your way home to be with the family you love. As you park your car, you enter into a dark home. Wondering why no one is home you find the light switch, flip it on . . . and then . . . "Surprise!" Everyone you love has just given you a surprise birthday party!
That's a great feeling to have that kind of surprise. However, not all surprises bring a smile to your face. The element of surprise in writing was defined by Aristotle. Using the Greek word, Peripeteia - meaning 'to fall around' or 'to change suddenly.' A change, he argued, "by which the action veers round to its opposite, subject always to our rule of probability or necessity." In other words, Aristotle argued that a writer should introduce a plot device to completely defy a reader's expectations.
In the Bible, we have a plot twist which turns this world upside down! An element of surprise which will only catch those who are unprepared for this event! I speak of the plot twist of the Coming King. In our world of pain, sadness, sickness, and sin . . . there is coming a time when . . . 'Surprise' He's back! Jesus is coming again. The pertinent question to ask yourself this Sabbath is, "Am I ready to meet my Master?"
This Sabbath day, may you find time to ask God that question. May your hunger and thirst after the only righteousness that changes the sinful heart! May you find the peace of God today to allow you to enjoy the 'surprise' that is just around the corner!
So, until the next time, this is Pastor Tello reminding you that thoughts do change lives!
Pastor Howard Tello