It's been a while since I've felt this homesick. And I don't just mean for my loved ones or beautiful Oregon. Although it's true I do miss a lot of wonderful people and the familiarity of my original corner of the world. But I'm talking about Heaven. First I hear of the horrifying school shooting in Connecticut, then that there was also a school knife attack in China, and then I find out that my friends just carried their beautiful and precious Hayley to the arms of Jesus. This all happened in less than 12 hours time, and it's all so overwhelming to take in. I don't know the best way to process it all. But it hurts and there's no dodging the obvious, nagging questions. I am not even directly affected by any of these heart-breaking stories in my day to day life, but my heart hurts for those who are and I care about those who are. What's supposed to be a wonderful time of the year seems jaded and distant. And sometimes I just ask The Lord "Can we come Home? I think we're all getting really homesick, and this crazy, messed-up world isn't helping matters."
I can't help but think that many people felt like this before Christ's first coming. I read the words to Oh, come, O come, Emmanuel and find myself praying them in a modern way. There's a sense of darkness, sadness and oppression after a week like this. If it's always darkest before the dawn, and if Jesus tarries to return, I hate the thought of future generations experiencing that escalated darkness. Because right now, I believe the enemy is kicking and screaming and pulling every stunt he can, wreaking as much havoc as he possibly can in the constantly-dwindling time he has left.
And it can be so easy to become disheartened and overwhelmed by those stunts and schemes, even I'll tell you that. But we must combat that, because we have been called to hope and light. Sometimes that seems impossible. But we are not without promise and hope! Just like the world was promised a Messiah to come the first time, we have been promised that the same Messiah will come to us again. Only this time, He is going to permanently bind The Enemy's sorry butt - FOREVER. [And the crowd goes wild!] He will no longer be the Suffering Servant, He will come again as a Reigning King, ruling forever! And then, we get to live -FOREVER!- with Him in Heaven free of the yuck of this world! Our hope is that even when good seems hard to find, God is always good, and He is always working. And the combination of the two means that there's still some good in this world.
If this doesn't excite you, but you say you follow Jesus, then you probably need to have your vital signs checked. Honestly, end-times stuff has always kinda freaked me out and caused a knot in my stomach. Because especially in that time, evil will escalate to sickening proportions, and that kind of evil is disturbing just to think about. But here's what I'm learning: it's not mine to worry about the future, but it is mine to HOPE in the future. I don't know when Christ will return, or how I will get to heaven. It's possible this blog will never be posted because I get to go Home. What I do know? Regardless of how I get there, Heaven is my hope. What matters is how I spend my time in this world. What matters is where my focus lies. What matters is where my thoughts go, what words I say and what things I do.
I choose to live in full awareness that I am just a stranger here. I am practicing and experiencing this concept in another way in my life. I am enjoying Germany and Europe, and thankful for all I get to see and experience along the way. But I am not home, I'm just passing through wanting to soak as much of this in as I can. So realizing it's temporary, I don't plan to get too comfortable, I do my best to see the positive and to keep myself from becoming too frustrated. Because, when I get home, none of those things will matter. But when I do get there, it will be glorious!
I can't help but think that many people felt like this before Christ's first coming. I read the words to Oh, come, O come, Emmanuel and find myself praying them in a modern way. There's a sense of darkness, sadness and oppression after a week like this. If it's always darkest before the dawn, and if Jesus tarries to return, I hate the thought of future generations experiencing that escalated darkness. Because right now, I believe the enemy is kicking and screaming and pulling every stunt he can, wreaking as much havoc as he possibly can in the constantly-dwindling time he has left.
And it can be so easy to become disheartened and overwhelmed by those stunts and schemes, even I'll tell you that. But we must combat that, because we have been called to hope and light. Sometimes that seems impossible. But we are not without promise and hope! Just like the world was promised a Messiah to come the first time, we have been promised that the same Messiah will come to us again. Only this time, He is going to permanently bind The Enemy's sorry butt - FOREVER. [And the crowd goes wild!] He will no longer be the Suffering Servant, He will come again as a Reigning King, ruling forever! And then, we get to live -FOREVER!- with Him in Heaven free of the yuck of this world! Our hope is that even when good seems hard to find, God is always good, and He is always working. And the combination of the two means that there's still some good in this world.
If this doesn't excite you, but you say you follow Jesus, then you probably need to have your vital signs checked. Honestly, end-times stuff has always kinda freaked me out and caused a knot in my stomach. Because especially in that time, evil will escalate to sickening proportions, and that kind of evil is disturbing just to think about. But here's what I'm learning: it's not mine to worry about the future, but it is mine to HOPE in the future. I don't know when Christ will return, or how I will get to heaven. It's possible this blog will never be posted because I get to go Home. What I do know? Regardless of how I get there, Heaven is my hope. What matters is how I spend my time in this world. What matters is where my focus lies. What matters is where my thoughts go, what words I say and what things I do.
I choose to live in full awareness that I am just a stranger here. I am practicing and experiencing this concept in another way in my life. I am enjoying Germany and Europe, and thankful for all I get to see and experience along the way. But I am not home, I'm just passing through wanting to soak as much of this in as I can. So realizing it's temporary, I don't plan to get too comfortable, I do my best to see the positive and to keep myself from becoming too frustrated. Because, when I get home, none of those things will matter. But when I do get there, it will be glorious!
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