Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (ESV)

In Douglas Adam's 1982 novel, "Life, the Universe and Everything", he describes how a spacecraft managed to land in the outfield of a cricket match without being seen, because the spacecraft had switched on its own invisibility field generator. This amazing power was called the SEP field.

Later, we find out that SEP is an acronym for Somebody Else's Problem, and that by its influence, things and people are rendered invisible. Under the influence of the SEP force, things become beyond one's will to engage with, thus making it not of a person's concern, and so, the mind becomes blinded to the reality.

Recently, my mother-in-law came to visit — for the first time in some months, due to COVID-19. After her visit, I found that she had left behind a bamboo shower scrunchie. Subsequently, it has been sitting on the bathroom floor near the door for several days. I have resisted picking it up, just to see how long it would take before anyone else would allow it to continue to sit there untended.

I think that we have an SEP field generator somewhere in the house, because, although I am less susceptible to its influence, others are totally taken in. I gave in to reality and decided that this little bathroom escapee had sat there long enough without being moved.

I am the Maddy — the mummy-daddy. Apparently, this means that some jobs and things become invisible to the rest of the family because Mr. Nobody, or usually the Maddy, will do it. Yes, I take on my role again as the family Maddy as the summer turns into autumn and they return to school and work, leaving me at home.

On picking up the scrunchie from the bathroom floor, I became aware of the reality that if we allow the SEP to do its sneaky work on the gospel in us, then the need to spread the gospel no longer becomes our responsibility!

So, whom will God send, if not me and you? For we are given to be God's witnesses here on earth.

Isaiah 6:8 – And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." (ESV)

Prayer: Lord, cleanse us once more, and bring us into the presence of Your throne room. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. May we become fitting vessels full of the power of the Holy Spirit to be bold and to go and spread the Word where we are during these times of turmoil. In and through the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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