April the giraffe has finally given birth! Or at least that is what the headline will read…some day. Sorry if you read that sentence and ran off to look at cute baby pictures only to find a pregnant giraffe still walking around.
April the giraffe is going to give birth any time now. Or so they say. She has been pregnant since 2015, but that’s just how giraffes roll. Last month, tens of millions of viewers, convinced April was about to give birth, watched, and watched, and watched.
And, like so many other things, when instant gratification was gone, binge watchers lost interest. Many people took to Twitter or Facebook showing their disappointment, boredom, and growing disinterest. A loyal fan base still exists, but nothing like those early moments on the live camera feed.
Now, it is probably for the best that people who had been glued to the live feed for days realized they needed to shower…and go to work…and feed the children. There is a time to watch and a time to live in anticipation. The trick is learning the difference…and that’s a good reminder for the church as well.
In Acts 1:9-11, we read that Jesus was “lifted up” while the disciples were watching. The disciples continued “gazing intently into the sky” so long that angelic beings (two men in white clothing) stopped them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand looking into the sky?” They continued, “Jesus…will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Did you catch that? Why keep staring? Instead, go do what He commanded. Proper “watching” means doing His will, not staring at the sky!
Have we grown weary of waiting? Make no mistake…He’s coming! “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)?
Millions are glued to a screen waiting for a giraffe. Or maybe by the time you read this, a cute baby giraffe has arrived. Will we, who anticipate a far greater arrival, show proper watchfulness by the lives we live?
