Shrouded by the descending fog of His presence.

 When Barnabas came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,  for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. Acts 11:23-24

A dense fog has desended onto Chicago. So dense that I cannot see past the wobbling rod iron fence separating me from the thirty-three story dropdown to State Street and the normally sparkling Chicago River. What is most striking of all is the silence. Downtown Chicago is always honking and shouting and blaring sirens and rattling. Not now. It has all been muffled into a distant, almost gentle roar, like sea surf. And this morning, this seems an apt metaphor. May the clutter of my culture and previous experience and head knowledge be muffled. And may I focus only on Him, and what He has to say to me about His love and power at work in this teeming world. Much as when His presence would descend onto the tabernacle as a swirling fog, and fill the space.

Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? By their fruit you shall know them.

The early church leaders were pretty upset at Peter had broken the Law and shared bread with the uncircumcised under their own roof. Peter told his story about the vision and the dream and the Holy Spirit's presence, and they were still unconvinced. It is noteworthy that this is the early Church that I so revere for their sense of community and oneness that is actually quite limited and exclusionary, as well as missing a big chunk of the picture, blinded by their cultural safety net of what should and shouldn't be. Barnabas the Encourager took off to see what was happening and witnessed the grace of God manifest. And I am once again reminded that God is bigger than I.

And John reminds us that it is all about Him and His love, and not about who we are, Greek or Jew, male or female, slave or free, nor what rules we obey or doctrinal statements we sign. He is the vine and we are the branches. And the telltale fruit is His. And He knows the true Big Picture.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.

 This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 1 John 4:7-16

 Dear LORD, let me be open to Your Spirit, which is new every morning, at work in this world to Your good purposes, to bring all to a saving knowledge of Your love and forgiveness. May I not rely on my own wisdom and understanding, but look to You and Your eternal Truths being revealed in each beloved soul. As I wander the streets of Chicago, under the rumbling train tracks or pass the hunched over man rattling his coin can on the bridge, may I hear Your voice. May I notice and be mindful to only You and Yours.