Today was the last day of our county fair. We went there after church and, to tell the
truth, it wasn’t the kind of place I was anticipating that God would reveal
Himself. But He did, in a surprising and
delightful way.
This afternoon a person could get a pass and have unlimited
rides at the fair midway. We got a pass
for our daughter and watched her go from ride to ride to ride. There were a few that she thought would be
too much for her to handle, and a few that she rode more than once. There was one ride that she rode five times
in a row.
After those five rides we persuaded her to take a break so
that we could go have a snack and sit a while, before returning to ride some more. And when we went back to the midway she went
straight to that one particular ride and rode it at least ten more times, all in
a row.
It wasn’t a very busy ride and as soon as she got off she
ran around to the start and got on again.
She was by herself but had no hesitation about asking people if she
could sit with them, and as we watched her they rarely said ‘no.’
She sat with boys, girls, teenagers, grown-ups. It didn’t matter to her. She put her arms in the air as the ride swung
back-and-forth, screeching to her heart’s content. And when it finished she got off, ran around to
the front and got back on, enthusiastically riding another time.
As she rode, again and again, I saw unending delight in her
face. It just kept going and going. And as I noticed that delight I had a glimpse
of the kind of joy that awaits all Christians in our eternal home in heaven.
In heaven there will be joy that is full and complete, in
ways that we can’t fully grasp in this life.
It will be a joy that will be unending and always delightful. It will touch our deepest places. Every recess of every wounded heart will know
healing.
Our joy won’t be because of what we will be doing, but the
source of our joy will be because of the one who has called us to heaven and with
whom we will dwell forever, Christ Jesus, our faithful Lord and Savior.
In Revelation
7:17 John writes,
“For
the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide
them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”
The image that John gives here is but one glimpse of the joy
of heaven. I count myself blessed that
my wife and I were able to see an image of that kind of joy in our daughter
today. An image that points to the
unending, eternal joy to be known in Christ Jesus.
Scripture quotations
are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by
Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment