Living On the Cusp of Eternity (4)

 

 

“I have a longing for the world above where multitudes sing the great song, for my soul was never created to love the dust of earth” (Valley of Vision, page 315).

 

“Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath, where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification is finished and perfected forever” (Valley of Vision, page 293).

 

Could it be that the orientation we’ve practiced during our time on earth molds our orientation in the departure terminal?

 

Paul writes that we are to “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1 – 2).

 

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

 

If we have lived life with our minds on the earth, on the here and now, on the temporal; if we have sought to amass treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19 -21), then it is not likely we will see beyond the departure terminal into the vast and measureless realm of eternity. It is also entirely possible that we either won’t realize we are in the departure terminal, or that if we do realize it that we will deny it, after all, everything we’ve lived for is in temporal, in the here and now.  

 

On the other hand, if we’ve lived seeking Jesus Christ and the things above, if we have grown in our vision of the unseen, of the eternals; if we have learned to look beyond and through and above appearances, if we have made deposits of treasure in heaven, then the departure terminal is a place of anticipation and expectation and celebration.

 

Then we will resonate with, “I have a longing for the world above where multitudes sing the great song, for my soul was never created to love the dust of earth.”

 

The Celts have a term, “a thin place.” It means that the barrier between the seen and the unseen is palpably thin, even permeable. Elisha lived in such a place, and when it thickened, such as when the Shunammite’s son died, he was shocked (2 Kings 4:27).

 

If we have learned to breathe the air of heaven while on earth, the closer we get to heaven’s atmosphere the sweeter the air, the brighter the sun, the more glorious the music.

 

Are we not children of another world? Was not Abraham, Ruth, Deborah, Isaiah, the saints of Hebrews 11 and beyond children of another world?  We are children of another world on our way home from a far country – home to the Father, home to be with the Son, home on the wings of the Holy Spirit.

 

Those in Christ do not take baggage on the plane, for all is provided for them in Christ. Thankfully, the baggage we may have is left behind; no burdens, no weights; all sins forgiven and forgotten, cast into the sea of forgetfulness – His mercy is overwhelming. A life without guilt and regret awaits us in the Celestial City, no sorrow, no pain, no tears – for we will be in the arms of our Father (Revelation 21:3 – 7).

 

There are moments when I sense eternity pressing upon me. It is like being on the beach before sunrise without light pollution; I cannot see the ocean, I cannot see the crashing surf, but I can smell the ocean and I can hear the surf…I know it is there, I know it, I know it, I know it. Then there is the first hint of light…and the sun begins its rising…and I begin to see…and I cannot speak, I do not want to speak, I want to see and smell and be still…and I see Him…His warmth begins to envelop me…and I know that what I have waited for has come…has come for me.

 

How is your pilgrimage today?

 

Can you hear the surf?