BY DAWN REED
My 8-year-old friend Emerson loves Legos. And not just the big chunky ones most kids his age tend to build with. This young guy just completed the Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle and Grounds, which has over 2,000 pieces and is recommended for ages 18 and up.
I was blown away. Over 2,000 pieces? Holy cow. His dad confirmed it and showed me a picture.
“Did you ever want to quit?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he answered seriously, nodding his 8-year-old head.
“What did you do?” I questioned.
He took a break for a few days and then started back. Finally, he finished it. What a story of pressing on.
He has never ever seen a Harry Potter movie or read one of the books. He just wanted to build the castle. That is significant because many of the Legos were the same color, nondescript until they were connected.
When I think of how God puts puzzle pieces together, I now call them Legos because of Emerson.
This week in Sunday School, our class was breaking apart (and drawing) the Day of Pentecost. There were so many Legos that God perfectly and strategically put together for that day.
Galatians 4:4 tells us, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son.” I can also say, “When the fullness of time had come, Jesus died on the cross.” Then, “When the fullness of time had come, the Holy Spirit came.”
When Jesus died at Passover, the clock began to tick toward the Feast of Weeks. Those who had been in Jerusalem for the temple sacrifices had seen and heard of the Crucifixion. They were likely shocked, confused, and/or discouraged. They all went home.
Then, Jesus arose from the grave. For 40 days He showed Himself to His disciples and others, proving He was alive (Acts 1:3). Before He went back to heaven, He told His followers to wait for the gift His Father would send. So, they did.
Ten days later was the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. The first Lego of Pentecost was set in place in Leviticus 23:16 when God gave Moses crucial instructions. There was to be an annual festival each year praising God for an abundant harvest. Moses had no clue what God had in store. He wrote what God said and let it be known to His people.
Acts 2 tells us that a multitude had gathered back in Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. It was an international crowd. There were Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, Cretans and Arabs. They had just planned on celebrating the Feast of Weeks, not realizing their lives would change forever.
When the Holy Spirit descended on each of the disciples, the people were able to hear them speak in their own language. What an amazing and precious gift. “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our tongues,” they exclaimed (Acts 2:11).
Peter stood up and preached his first sermon. The people were cut to the heart. He told them to repent and they did. About 3,000 were added to their number.
After a miraculous time, those 3,000 went back home. They told all that had happened. God had put every Lego together in His perfect timing for the sharing of the gospel.
The next time when life does not seem to make sense, when we have to wait, when we are discouraged about His timing, we can trust that God is working.
Like Moses and the disciples, God is putting our Legos together with a plan. And it is a good one.