We are immortals dreaming the terrible dream of mere mortality.
~Peter Kreeft
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, … And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. … 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.
~ from Revelation 21
Beloved, much of our walk through life has little to do with things we experience. We walk in meaningful mystery. Jeremy Driscoll calls these mysteries “a concrete something that when you bump into it, it puts you in contact with a Divine reality.”
It is hard, but when we begin to see this, everything means something. And the things that are meaningless quickly become boring. We begin to see that we live in a world of connection, and of true hunger to understand.
Then, by His Grace, some of us find the Truest meaning in the mysteries of life. We find HIM. Oh, beloved! He is so Beautiful. So Good. So True. So Real. The very Pearl of Great Price!
Then, though, as He walks with us, there comes more mystery: Pain. OWWW!!! That hurts!!!! We may have begun to trust that there will be an answer someday, but wow, life can hurt. On better days though, we can begin to see pain for what it is: a solvent that works to dissolve any material between our spirit and the Holy Spirit.
And sometimes, in our most purpose-fulfilling moments, we can actually hear Him moving towards us through the pain. He is using it to scrub away the space between us. He is weeping with passion as He tears down anything that would keep the two of us apart. He calls out saying, OH friend! It’s OK! I AM here. There is no other way right now. Will you trust Me? I really do have this under control. It’s just going to hurt. That’s all, nothing else has changed. All is well.
And it really is – forever. No need for bitterness. All will be better on That Day!
