Holy Collisions
Have you ever experienced a collision? Two summers ago, a friend and I were on the Cape enjoying a very impromptu day of sightseeing when a car sped through a stop sign and broadsided me. This was the first major collision I had experienced. It certainly ruined the rest of our day!
Car collisions are not the only one kind of collision we can experience.
How about a collision with a piece of furniture when you stubbed your toe?
How about a collision your stomach might have had with a spicy burrito?
How about an ideological collision you might have with a friend or co-worker not seeing eye to eye on a political issue?
How about the collision you have over a sport’s team?
You get the idea, collisions are a regular part of our life!
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the movie, “The Chosen.” At the beginning of the movie, I saw a music video called “The In Between” by Matt Maher. As I listened to the words, the phrase “holy collisions” stood out for me.
As I reflected on this phrase, I realized that holy collisions are times when we run smack dab into the Holy! In the everyday, in the good times, in the bad times, at life’s crossroads, in the most unlikely places!
Scripture is packed full of holy collisions. We see and experience real people asking hard questions, making positive decisions, going down paths of darkness and confusion, fully following God’s commands, wavering in their resolve, amazing worship and fellowship with God and His children, peer pressure resulting in disaster!
These collisions start on the first pages of Scripture. Remember that famous collision Eve had with the serpent. The crafty snake spoke to Eve, convincing her to eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil. Eve told the serpent that God said they should not eat it and they would die if they did, but Satan tempted Eve to eat, saying that she would become like God if she did. Eve believed the lie and took a bite of the fruit. She then gave some to Adam for him to eat. Adam and Eve, now knowing that they had sinned, immediately felt ashamed and tried to hide from God. And so the collision begins… relationships were forever changed!
How about Rebecca, the mother of Jacob and Esau. If you recall, she made the decision to favor Jacob over Esau. Sadly, as a mother, she knew better. She went on and helped to deceive her husband, Isaac, and this ensured that Rebecca’s favorite younger son, Jacob, got the blessing before his father died. This intervention spiraled their lives out of control forever. What a collision!
Then if we visit the New Testament, there was Saul on the road to Damascus and his collision with Jesus! He was never the same again. God transformed Saul, who became known as Paul. He became a champion of God and many lives were changed. Another holy collision where God took a life and completely changed the trajectory!
I remember one holy collision I had when I was 15 and a classmate asked me if I was “born again.” This was the moment that my current spiritual life and this question collided. I knew I was a good Catholic girl (because my mother told me so!). My classmate was also Catholic, so I just thought we had the same beliefs. At that crossroads, I realized that I didn’t have a relationship with God. This collision moved me into a personal relationship with Christ and I have been all in since! My life changed forever!
Three things things I’ve realized about these Holy Collisions
1. Holy collisions are coming, and usually when we least expect them. We can wake up one morning and by the end of the day, our lives can be topsy turvy! I am sure each of us can remember a phone call, an incident, an encounter, that changed things forever.
2. Holy collisions can’t be avoided. I can’t control them. I know that even when those unexpected circumstances happen, try as I might, I can’t seem to right the ship, can’t quite seem to get it back on track. I just don’t have the ability to control things, but I know the One who does!
3. Holy collisions are opportunities for transformation and growth. We can choose how we receive and respond to collisions. Will it bring us down to depths of despair or depression? Will we see it as a distraction, a way to keep us off balance? Will we let it penetrate our heart so that we can move forward in a new and fresh way?
What holy collisions have you experienced in your life and how are you responding to God in them?
Sandy Coelho serves as Lay Leadership Development Coordinator at the Baptist Churches of New England.
