Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a divine center, a speaking voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto itself…. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it…. Here is the slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action.
~Thomas R. Kelly (1893-1941)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
~ Jesus, KING of kings, and LORD of lords, in Revelation 21
Oh beloved, it is true.
The world we are in is fading away. It is the place we have entered into eternity, but it is far from home. And still, because we have not yet seen the Blessed Hope in fullness, there is a part of us that feels trapped.
The waves and flows of our current existence try to wash it away. But, the Truth is eternal – and much more stubborn that a stout Dutch seawall. The breakers come in. They bash us with tide and the detritus of this world. And still we remain both unmoved and yet more deeply moved in the abysmal depths or our spirits.
Said more simply: We are here. But here is not where we belong, nor is it truly where we want to be.
G_d has done this on purpose.
We were Designed to be antsy about living on a wisp of the smoke of history. We were never meant to feel at home as circumstances work against us in nearly countless ways. We were indeed Designed to want to come away and be Home.
Can we see it?
Have you felt it on the days where things are just so heavy that you don’t think you can handle another minute of stress? Have you sensed it in the moments where everything is as perfect as it could be (here) but, is not enough? Not even close to enough…
On both sides of it; when things are bad. And when things are good. We don’t fit. Just as we receive the award for a job well done, we look over the shoulder of our boss, and past the audience – looking for approval from a Source that truly matters.
And, when the terrible things that happen to many of us, happen – we find that really (if we honestly think about it) things are not so bad. Oh, it is not that we don’t care. Nor is it that the crimes of this world don’t matter. They surely do. It’s more… Well, like death has lost its sting. SomeOne has already defeated it.
Now, in light of no true satisfaction in this existence, and no deep worry about the waves of our circumstances, we begin to see the Truth, Who has been there all the time. Him. We don’t want any thing. We want Him. We don’t just tolerate our pain. We realize that it is insignificant in the Light of His enduring, eternal Presence that we will soon enter.
So, are you hurting and worn out? Are you at the top of your supposed game? This fool of a writer has been both. No good thing has ever been enough. And no bad thing can douse the Hope. Perhaps you know exactly what i mean.
i pray you do dear brother or sister. If you do, i look forward to meeting you on That Day to come!
Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.
~ CS Lewis
