Esther is One to Watch

Our Covenant Groups are reading Esther this week. Everyone knows the story of Esther. Especially if you're Jewish, or Christians raised in Sunday School, and attended a VBS. Don't hear about her preached much. If you've preached on Esther I would love to hear about it.

Anyway, I preached on her story yesterday, on the well-known verses of 4:11-17. Juxtaposed with Romans 8:26-32, the challenge for us all was to remember that God is working all the time to bring about good when others might intend evil. Having to risk death facing the King to save her people, I asked the congregation, "How was she gonna get out of this one?" I asked us all the same question. The answer is, of course - by the sovereignty of the God, who in his fullness as the Trinity, is working in us and through us to bring his purposes to bear on earth. We all face dilemmas of life or death, as the hidden God places us somewhere, "for such a time as this." Esther is honored for her courage and selflessness, in heeding the call to save her people: "If I die, I die."

After the service, a member came to me with another thought about the message. In so many words, he offered that God might also be calling us "for such a time as this" simply to experience God's delight. Wow! I thought about that - and though we don't know how Esther FELT after it was all over, knowing what we know about God, I can imagine that she was smiling, and happy, and delighting in her people. And with God.

I can tend to take myself pretty seriously. OK, yes, I can be very intense. I can overdo the need to save a situation. God knows the world needs saving and as a Christian, I don't take that lightly. But in the midst of all that, I will consider whether God might be calling me to a life or LAUGH situation, where I can say, "If I die laughing, I die laughing."

Is it time to have more JOY in the Lord?

Feel free to post any ideas!