Excited

When was the last time you looked for a four leaf clover?  It’s been years since I even thought about doing it.  Clover is a weed messing up the yard. If you get past that, you still have to get down on your hands and knees to search.  Is it even worth the effort?

Last week my nephew Harrison found one and he was so excited to share the experience. For Harry it was a totally new discovery and as he shared, it became clear that every patch of clover he had seen since was full of potential.

Jesus stirred things up.  When encountering Jesus most people, even those who became frustrated, went to great lengths to respond.  Some left everything to follow Him, others did all they could to have Jesus crucified.  I think it’s safe to say that there was a certain level of excitement fueling those passionate responses.

After Jesus’ resurrection we see a similar level of excitement. When God heals a crippled man through Peter the man’s excitement bursts out drawing everyone’s attention. After Peter tells the crowd about Jesus Luke writes that thousands become believers. Can you imagine the level of excitement?

“Jumping up, he began to walk around. He entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God.” ‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭3:8-9‬ ‭CEB‬‬

I used to be just like Harrison, super excited about the possibilities that lie in every clover patch.  Then I let the burden of “effort” and my lack of interest in the value of the discovery prevent even thinking about getting excited.  

Most of us remember a time when, like that crippled man, our excitement from encountering Jesus couldn’t be contained.  Perhaps someone made you feel like your “dancing” wasn’t good enough or that it was inappropriate.  (Luke doesn’t mention it but I’m pretty sure this guy caught some flak for his antics).  It’s perfectly normal for the excitement to wear off.  (At some point this guy had to get tired too…he couldn’t even walk and then he went straight to dancing).  When excitement wears off we have to rediscover it.  

Find ways to regularly encounter Jesus and keep rediscovering uncontainable excitement!