May I Have Your Attention Please
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The words of Jesus in Mark 1:15
“May I have your attention please?”
These words became a joke between me and my husband when our children were small. As we would try to have a good conversation, or eat a quiet meal, or sit in peace for a few minutes, they would seem to go wild. If we didn’t respond immediately the noise level would intensify or the behavior would worsen. It was sometimes a dance or a song, or “read me this book.” Other times it was an argument (okay, a fight) between them, or a little tantrum.
My husband would look at me and say, “May I have your attention please?” Then, we would decide if we should ignore the behavior or deal with it right away. We hated to give in to their vying for attention if it wasn’t necessary.
I want to clearly say that these were not usually punishable offenses. We chalked it up to a child’s desire to be seen and heard when they felt ignored. Sometimes we continued to ignore them and sometimes we knew they needed our attention.
As we have lived through the last several years it seems that frequently, though our children are adults now, my husband is turning to me and saying. “May I have your attention, please?” This time though, the one precipitating the question is the Lord God Himself. We are watching and hearing what is happening in the world and speculating that God is trying to get our attention because we have been ignoring His repeated attempts to speak to us.
I think the thing that caused us to start paying attention was September 11, 2001. It seems that since then we have seen natural disasters and heinous crimes that have made us sit up and take notice. We frequently wonder what will happen to us, as a nation, if we continue to ignore the sovereignty of God in all areas of life and act like He is not a part of these events.
Many people want to argue that a loving God would not allow these things. We all seem to agree that God is not the author of evil (James 1:13), the place we seem to disagree is that the Bible clearly teaches that God has the wisdom, power, and might to bring what He chooses, to stop what He chooses, and to allow what He chooses, according to His Sovereign will and for our ultimate good. It is because He loves us that He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin.
As a loving God, He also sends us warnings. It seems to me that He has been consistently trying to open our eyes to the truth of His displeasure with the way we have eliminated Him and His teaching from most of our culture. He is a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4;24) He will not be mocked. (Galatians 6:7) We have turned away from Him to worship other gods so that we have invited His jealousy. We have mocked what He has taught by ignoring or laughing at His laws. Do we expect peace?
Peace is a fruit of righteous living. (Isaiah 32:17) As a nation, do we show any signs of righteous living? Abortion, divorce, adultery, pornography, foul language, sexual immorality (in life and in entertainment), violence on screen and in video games. There seems to be no area of life where God’s Word is respected.
In Romans 1:18-25 Paul talked about a time when conditions and thinking were similar. He said, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (19) For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. (20) For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (21) For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (22) Claiming to be wise, they became fools, (23) and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (24) Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, (25) because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
In our unrighteousness as a nation are we suppressing the truth of God? Have we failed to honor Him? Have we refused to thank Him? Are we offering our worship to inanimate objects or the creation rather than the Creator? Are these not similar times to those Paul was describing and has God not given us over to our own lusts and impurity? As Christians I fear we are guilty in not trying to tell others that they have committed these very sins that God has said were worthy of revealing His wrath.
Are we listening? Do we see it? God is doing many things that need to make us hear Him say, “May I have your attention, please?”
Does He have your attention?