Lent – Day 7
I grew up about an hour from South Padre island and growing up we would go all the time. I loved playing in the water, relaxing on the beach, looking for animals on the jetty, and fishing. We ate seafood, got sunburned, and usually stopped at dairy queen on the way home.
When I got older, I moved away from the valley and missed the beach. When we moved to Houston, we started going down to Galveston, but it just wasn’t the same. No offense to you islanders, but the beach at Galveston doesn’t compare to South Padre island.
This past summer, we planned a trip to the valley to see some friends, my grandma, introduce Amy and the boys to a botana platter, Mexican bakeries, and South Padre. I was looking forward to it for months before.
This is the picture I often get of heaven. That we get little pictures of it here, usually in the form of an experience like a camp or conference, vacation, or sabbatical. We get to experience the goodness of God in an intense way and all the worries and struggles seem to melt away.
But then we also look forward to an uninhibited heaven where God will be always available. That the intensity of our relationship will be fully on display at all times and that we will get a chance to be without sin, brokenness, and distraction from Him.
Revelation 21:1-4 says:
“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.”
During lent, we look for little moments where God can come in close and where we can experience small pieces of heaven but also when we mourn, struggle, and fail, that we can look forward to a new heaven that awaits us.
- Where is a time in your upcoming day where you can pause and not be distracted to just sit in the presence of God?
- Where in your life do you need to remember that one day, things will be ordered?
- How can you help others find the closeness of heaven in their life?
- When you think of heaven, do you feel excited or scared? Why do you think you feel that way?