MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
“Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope, 4 to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven.” (1Peter 1:3-4)
There are so many things we can praise the Lord for each moment of our lives! Sometimes, I like to reflect upon the highlights and do not doubt that, as with all believers, it echoes the same sentiment that Peter made in the above Scripture. In this day and age, where so many people are living with gloomy, pessimistic outlooks, it is so refreshing to be surrounded by a community of believers who radiate a ‘living hope.’ This is not only something true, wholesome and substantial but a reality we need to immerse ourselves in at every opportunity!
When we breathe in His goodness and exhale, is like the scent of a beautiful perfume:
“In a turbulent world where people are either dying or being rescued, we are the sweet smell of the Anointed to God our Father. “ (2Corinthians 2:15 – VOICE)We love to nourish ourselves with stories how God intervened to br ing restoration to broken lives and hope for those who unflinchingly placed their trust upon the One who is our Rock and our Redeemer. We must never forget to celebrate the story, but more importantly, to be the story. This is the difference between a participator and a spectator; one who is resolute and those who are undecided.
The latter grieves over missed opportunities and the consequences of all that could have been. One of the most poignant examples in Jewish history was the following event that took place just prior to the Spanish Inquisition, one of the darkest times in Jewish history.
“In the year 1490, there was a big gathering of the congregations of all the Jewish community in Spain, near Barcelona. This Jewish community flourished in positions in government, and prospered to the point where they were talking to each other, asking, ‘What can we do to make our identity as Jews stronger? One of them suggested, ‘You know how rich we have become! Let’s send a message to Istanbul that we want to buy the land of Israel back from the Turks. We will pay whatever price they want. We’ll return to the Holy Land and rebuild the temple!’
There was complete unity and great excitement at this suggestion so they appointed three representatives from the community to go from Spain to Istanbul to negotiate terms with the Pasha in Turkey and return. Travel in those days was long and arduous and they set aside twelve months for this venture.
In the meantime, they decided they would open new yeshivas for Kohanim (Priests) to learn Kedoshim (holiness) for Levi’im (Levis) to study music, and their joy was unbounded! They decided they would meet the following year on Rosh Chodesh Elul in the year 1491.
The year passed quickly and they all assembled again to receive feedback from the emissaries. ‘We got a great price! We are buying the Holy Land!’ Everyone was ecstatic until suddenly one in their midst stood up and said, ‘Who gave us the right to buy the Holy Land? The Lord drove us out from the Holy Land, so we don’t have the right to go back unless we have a sign from heaven!’
The people immediately responded with indignation. ‘Are you crazy? Do you need a bigger sign? We have the money! The Pasha wants to sell it to us, and we want to go!’ However, a wedge had been driven and the poison had found an entrance. There were already two parties, one said, ‘White,’ and one said, ‘No! That’s red!’ They decided to wait another year, until Rosh Chodesh Elul, 1492, and everybody knows that on Tisha b’Av that year they were driven out of Spain. Do you know what the problem is? When the right moment arrives, Don’t wait, don’t wait . . .”
Raphael ben Levi
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