When we remember what comes next, when we take the time to consider the depth of joy and wonder that weighs enough to tip the scale on cancer and school shootings, dialysis and depression, on corrupt politicians, fraudulent court proceedings, record inflation and all the other ugly things fallen man has made prominent — well, it lightens the load for today by some measure.
Tag: Heaven
I think again about Eden and how Adam and Eve walked in unbroken fellowship with God. Isn’t that the highest aim of Spirit empowerment? We hope to hear God’s heart and leading and possess the strength to follow Him unflinchingly. As Spirit-filled believers we experience Eden again by some small measure. Additionally, we carry a bit of Eden into every interaction, conversation, meeting and meal.
Dear Jesus cried out to His Father in acute honesty. Though His words feel accusatory, His actions spoke belief. Jesus was sure that His Father was still near enough to hear Him.
As we age, our tents start to show signs of depreciation. But old age and even death is not the end of our story: one day soon, we’ll trade in these canvas coverings for eternal dwellings: homes of brick and mortar.
My devotional space faces east and it is amazing to rise each morning and watch the Lord knit together a new day. It is typically still inky black outside my window when I first open the scriptures, but pretty soon the eastern sky begins to lighten by degrees. The shadows gather in the corners until they will finally slink away entirely. The black of night fades away to blue and eventually brightens altogether as pink and orange and yellow pour forth. Eventually the sunrise overtakes the nightfall altogether.
I think about Ruth’s roots in Moab and I remember that we, too, are sojourners. Each and every believer on earth is just passing through on our way to a far better place. We have a Home just over the horizon, a whole new life awaiting us in a land we haven’t yet set foot in.
This Mother’s Day, I am picturing my happy momma walkingthrough meadows of wildflowers with the One whom her soul loves. I’m imagining her engaging in deep theological discussions where everything Jesus says makes perfect sense and ah-hah moments abound. I can see them, sitting around a table laden with olives and cheese and bread and honey, breaking out in belly laughs when the Father cracks a joke. Conversations linger over long dinners and her soul is strengthened by unbroken fellowship.
When we are heirs, we don’t get to pick and choose what responsibilities and benefits we prefer. Sons and daughters receive the challenges and blessings in equal stride.
It’s interesting, on a Sunday afternoon errand, I discovered two sheep that moved into the area. “They are Dorper sheep”, their ninety-year-old owner informed me. He’d wanted a pair of Dorper sheep since he was a little boy. The sheep keeper leaned heavily into the saddle of his field-weary four wheeler and adjusted the cannula that fed oxygen to his failing heart. “Sheep are born looking for a place to die.” It was a startling sentence, especially as I considered the myriad of scriptural implications.
So often we run from God believing the lie that living for Him will somehow be more miserable than living apart form Him.