[Originally posed on Lifestream site on April 9, 2004]
A few interesting circumstances fell together during my last day in Ireland that made God’s life a bit more real to me. I woke up on the on my 12th morning since I had left Sara and immediately found myself focused on my return home the following day and the joy of seeing her again and catching up. With eager anticipation I thought of her picking me up at the airport, driving home and spending an evening together after my long absence.
Later that day a brother pulled me aside to tell me how much he had appreciated the latest article in BodyLife, Living in Two Worlds, which concerns how we can live more freely in this present age by keeping our eyes on the reality of eternity.
As I got some time alone later, the juxtaposition of those two events really struck me. I thought about my anticipation of being with Sara the next day and how much more real that seemed to me than someday being face to face with the Father of all and the Son who redeemed us. It was a bit of a reality check. If we only knew what was waiting for us when we finally shed this mortal, corruptible natures and came into the full glory of our inheritance as God’s children, we would have no uncertainty about our mortality.
I know I don’t fully get that yet. If I did I would anticipate his appearing with even greater eagerness than I did my return to Sara. That doesn’t mean I have to be excited about the trip. I don’t relish eleven-hour airplane flights, nor, one would expect, the actual mechanism of dying. But for the joy set before me I endured the one to get home, and will one day endure the other so that I can be with him forever in the freedom and joy of his redemption.
And having such a hope does not make us worthless in the days we have here. In fact, it works just the opposite. My excitement at getting home to Sara made my last day all that much more fun. It allowed me to give myself fully to those we engaged that day knowing this was the last chance on this trip to participate in God’s life together. Isn’t that a great way to live each day—making the most of every opportunity, treasuring every joy while we wait in eager anticipation for the one our souls love most of all!
