'I must not think it strange if God takes in youth those whom I would have kept on earth till they were older. God is peopling Eternity, and I must not restrict Him to old men and women.'Jim Elliot, 1950
Last Monday we heard the news that a local boy named Alex, who was working at a Christian camp for the summer, drowned. I never met him, but he was known and loved by many of our friends and is being mourned. People all over the county and beyond are surrounding his grieving family with love and tears and prayer, just as many friends did for my own family not long ago.In July 2007, my nephew Nathan was killed in an accident near his home in Kansas. Had he lived, this month he would have celebrated his 25th birthday. I think about Nathan all the time and miss him more than I can describe. That missing often leads me back down the same path in my finite mind: why did the Lord allow that horrible accident to happen? The simple answer, of course, is that there is no answer-this side of eternity, at least. But the pain of his absence has served to imbue in me a new longing for heaven.I'm ashamed to admit that for most of my life I have been content with rooting myself to this earth. I rarely give heaven, or the idea of heaven, a passing thought. Sure I want to want to be with Jesus, but until recently I didn't understand how to long to be in His presence. I know now what if feels like to ache to see a beloved face again. But with that pain there is also the simple assurance that I will see Nathan again, be reunited with unimaginable joy. And that joy is only a taste of what it will be like to see my Jesus face to face.
I Thessalonians reminds us that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Without this steadfast hope we have in Jesus Christ, the burden of our grief would be overwhelming. It has to be enough for now to know that Jesus is peopling heaven with those whom we wanted to keep here for a little while longer. It makes our sorrow bearable and it keeps us alight with a steadfast joy that not even death can steal.
I Thessalonians reminds us that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Without this steadfast hope we have in Jesus Christ, the burden of our grief would be overwhelming. It has to be enough for now to know that Jesus is peopling heaven with those whom we wanted to keep here for a little while longer. It makes our sorrow bearable and it keeps us alight with a steadfast joy that not even death can steal.
Are you longing for heaven today?
{Alison}