Jump Start # 3889
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Well, today is my birthday. Another year older. Another year completed on this journey of life. I am closer to 70 than I am fifty. And, while many would declare that age is just a number and it’s how you feel that matters, the truth is, the sand is quickly falling in the hourglass of life.
Birthdays, especially as one gets many years, tend to make a thoughtful person reflect. Some are so busy living today, living as if the sand in the hourglass is perpetual, and never runs out, that they miss timeless lessons and great opportunities in life.
I have a friend who is nearly my age who has told me that he thinks he has about 15 years left at the most. I’ve had several all around my age that have already gone through the door of death into the next room of God’s house. Such thoughts can make one depressed. Some might feel like pulling the covers over their head and staying in bed all day. It’s not gloom and doom to be reflective. With faith in the Lord, the future is only brighter and better. Without faith, one tries to squeeze every ounce of fun out of life while he can. The door of death, for those who do not know the Lord, is thought to open into nothingness. This is it, as they see life. This is as good as things will ever be. There is no bright future. Fear. Dread. And fighting for every final breath is how the world handles the end of life.
So, on this reflective day for me, I have a list that I want to share with you. This list is composed of things I think I will miss. I might be wrong about this. I may not miss them at all. But, here’s the list anyway:
· I will miss green trees and blue skies. I never tire looking at those things. As I write this from my office, I look out the window and see the tops of green trees and blue skies. The background picture on my computer is a photo I took from the Smokey Mountains. Hills of green trees and blue skies. Something peaceful and calming about that. I’m sure Heaven has something better than that, but from the only world I have known, it’s hard to beat green trees and blue skies.
· I will miss my family. Now, I’m expecting a big portion of them to be in Heaven one day, but the interaction, the laughter, the smiles, the holding hands, the joys that they have put in my heart. I will miss my wife. I know there is no marriage in Heaven, but I wish there was. She has been my rock for decades and has kept me from saying and doing things that I would have regretted. Just sitting beside her on the back porch, nothing being said, just enjoying green trees, blue skies and each other’s company. I don’t know how the Lord will do things on the other side, but I hope I get to sit beside her for about a thousand years on the same log.
· I will miss worship. I believe worship on the other side will be so amazing that it will take our breath away. Singing with angels. Singing with the Hebrews 11 crowd. Singing with beloved folks that I have not seen in a long time. Around the throne and in the presence of our Lord, with no other place to be, and in no hurry to get done, how marvelous and wonderful that will be. It will knock the socks off of how we worship here. Yet, I will miss peaching God’s wonderful message. I will miss passionate prayers. I will miss the workings in the kingdom. Classes taught, sharing the Gospel, baptizing people, seeing hearts repenting and turning from sin. That’s the wonderful life here. It’s been my adult life. I’ve enjoyed writing Jump Starts. I like writing sermons. I love teaching Bible classes. We won’t be doing those things on the other side. I think I will miss that.
In our verse today, Paul contrasts the sufferings of now to the glory that is to come in Heaven. No comparison. Beyond that, the best this place has to offer, is no compassion to the glory that is to come. As a child of God, we ought not to leave this world, kicking and screaming, but instead, bursting with joy and anticipation for what is before us. Heaven is God’s home. As wonderful, gracious and beautiful that our God is, Heaven will be a reflection of that. Not a one of us will be disappointed with Heaven. No one will say, “I’ve been to Disney and Heaven is ok.” Nope. No one will say, “I thought it would be bigger than this.” Nope. If anything, we will be amazed that God allows us to be there.
And, once we are there, all the troubles, trials and sadness of this life won’t even be worth mentioning. It won’t matter. And, once there, there won’t be any other place that we’d rather be. We wouldn’t want to go back to this world, not even for a moment. Even my green trees and blue skies won’t matter. I’ll see things so much better than that. The faithful of all generations, the host of Heaven and our Lord and Savior—that’ll beat any green tree or blue sky.
Won’t it be wonderful there…sure will. Each day, is just one day closer!
Roger