A Breaking In From Above
It was a special opportunity to go fishing with an old friend. As we shared our time on the water, he brought me up to speed on his battle with prostate cancer.
“Right now the numbers are good,” he said. “But soon I will have received all the radiation and hormone treatment that is allowable. Things might well change then. In fact, the statistics are that only 27% of men with my diagnosis live for more than five years.”
While my friend shared this with a mixture of frankness and faith, I found the moment to be a profound one. Five years to live! And quickly the thought came, “What if I only had five years to live?”
In sharing this with my wife, she suggested, “It seems that you just had a kairos moment.” Indeed. This was more than a passing discussion between two friends. It’s as if God was seeking to break in from above and say something important to me.
Identifying Kairos Moments
In my last post, Making the Most of Moments, I talked about how our relationship with the Lord is far more dynamic than we might have considered. How He wants to give us a revelation that would result in a response.
I noted that kairos moments come in all shapes and sizes.
They can be large (the day you were married) or small (a glorious sunset).
They can be positive (the birth of a child) or negative (the loss of a job).
They can be affirming (the joy found in helping someone in need) or corrective (a chronic tendency to worry).
But the common denominator is that these moments leave an impact and would seem to be an invitation whereby God is calling you to learn more about Himself or yourself.
Kairos moments are an invitation from God to learn more about Himself or yourself.
So how does one identify such moments? There are 4 word pictures that might help you recognize a kairos:
A brick wall – a life-changing event that will totally alter your future (death, divorce, diagnosis)
A speed bump – a rough spot you encounter – perhaps time and time again (losing your temper, giving in to worry, refusing to be wrong).
A window – you get a fresh vision of an opportunity (a job offer, a ministry possibility, a relational invitation).
A mirror – you see yourself in a new way (a bent toward jealousy or insecurity or selfishness).
My Mirror Kairos
In my case, this was a “mirror” moment. I determined that I wasn’t going to give it just a passing glance but, rather lean into it. I did so by asking a series of questions:
“What got my attention?”
“What is God saying to me?”
“What should I do in light of what He was saying?”
Regarding the first question, what struck me in a powerful way was that the Lord seemed to be wanting to remind me of the fragility of life. And it was quite sobering. (By the way, an indicator of a kairos is often that it will create an emotional response.)
That led to a time of reflection with my wife. She wisely pressed into the moment. “Why did that hit you so hard?” This led to some further discussion regarding how all too often I lived in the future rather than in the present.
Then she asked me the second question: “What do you think God might be saying to you about this?” In pondering this, it didn’t take long before I sensed a word from Him. “Dave, you have been given THIS day not SOME day. My son, it’s a gift for you to make the most of.”
I didn’t feel condemned by the word. Even as I was challenged, I felt loved and encouraged. (“It is the kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance.” Romans 2:4)
Which opened the door to the third question: “What did God want me to do in light of that?” That is, how was I going to put that word into practice?
Again, I had a sense of leading. “I was to look for ways to mark moments and make memories with those I loved.” And so, I made plans to do so.
This is a simple example of how to capture and process a kairos. In this case, it was a positive moment. In other cases, it’s been a negative moment. But either way, kairos can be transformational moments.
Kairos moments can be transformational moments.
A Revelation and Response Culture
Jesus calls us to be His disciples. At its essence, a disciple is a learner. And in order to learn there’s the need to receive instruction.
Such instruction comes regularly – not only through Scripture but through circumstances. And when we’re open to these moments, we will grow in our maturity.
This is also foundational to creating a discipleship culture. When it becomes normal for people to recognize when God is speaking to them (revelation) and put it into practice in their lives (response), you have the conditions for a discipling culture to flourish.
When it becomes normal for people to recognize when God is speaking to them (revelation) and put it into practice in their lives (response), you have the conditions for a discipling culture to flourish.
Can you imagine the potential when more and more people in your faith community begin to live this way?
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