When God Shouts

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. John 20:16

Jesus had to use an exclamation point as He called her, “Mary!" Jesus had to shout. Why?

Because Mary thought Jesus was the gardener. Because she did not recognize her Lord at the first instance. Because she did not acknowledge Jesus who was dear to her at the first sight.

Let me count several possible ways why sometimes God has to shout.

First, she thought He was the gardener. She thought the resurrected God is a man. She mistaken God for a man. When we give recognition to man and not to God, we shift our attention not to God but to man. When we glorify the creation rather than the Creator, we missed out on His presence.

Mary was weeping as she was entering the tomb. Maybe, her eyes full of tears blocked her good vision to recognize the risen Christ at the first call. Does something blocks your eyes in seeing Jesus? If yes, wait for God's booming voice.

It was still dark when she came to the tomb. Maybe, the darkness prevented her to see who was in front of her clearly. In the same way, darkness engulfing our lives prevents us from seeing Jesus. Things not of God can become clouds over for us to see the light.

She expected a dead Jesus still laying on the tomb. She did not expect standing and speaking Jesus. Maybe, this expectation did not allow her to acknowledge Jesus at the first encounter. God is full of surprises. When we expect the ordinary to happen, God does the extra-ordinary. When we expect limitation, God goes beyond the boundary.

My daughters sometimes get the ire of their parents when at first call they do not respond. We need to elevate our voices to get their attention and respond to us. I noticed they don't respond at first since their eyes are stuck in the TV set or when they are doing their art crafts. We, too, hear God's elevated voice when we fix our hearts on other things rather than God. We know God is calling us but we shun His call because our eyes are busy with other things.

Jesus speaks to us personally. Jesus knows how just to get our attention. He knows our personal frequency bandwidth. That is why we won't miss His voice.

Give glory to God. Wipe your tears. Overcome the darkness. Have an expectant faith. Fix your eyes on Him. Respond to His voice at first. Recognize Him at once.

Unless you want to hear God's shout.