Our Prison

I used to have a hard time thinking about heaven. Sure, I learned about heaven in Sunday School, and I wanted to know that I would be there when I die... just as long as that wasn't any time soon. Over the past few years, though, my perspective has changed. As I have watched firsthand some of the broken things of this world, my heart longs for the day when restoration will come, and the Earth will be restored to the way that it was intended from the beginning. Even as I type that, I feel a literal ache inside of me for that day. I want a world where children don't have to suffer while cancer ravages their little bodies. I want a world where women don't sell their bodies because they recognize their worth as God's beloved. I want a world where the poor are not oppressed because there are no poor. I want a world where children aren't trafficked as sex slaves. I want heaven to come down. I want Eden. I want the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords to reign and for all things to be made right again. I long for that day.

Come, Lord Jesus.

I was talking today to a sweet man who is a beautiful example who what it means to be a servant of Jesus. He has been a missionary in Peru with his family for many years. I love to listen to him, because His words are so often full of Truth and encouragement. His wife, Christy, was just recently diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. As we were talking through some things related to this new battle that they are facing, he made a comment about how in reality this world is our prison. It is not our home. Here, we are often bound by the things of this world and the consequences of sin. One day, that will not be the case. When the end of this life comes and we are face-to-face with Jesus, we will be completely free. Until that day, we must trust the Lord and cry out for His Kingdom to come on this earth as it is in heaven. I want to see more of His Kingdom. I want to live in freedom.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Please pray for my friends Ale and Christy and their family. Even though they have great faith in the Lord and have hope because of His promises, this is still a very difficult path to walk down. Pray for them as they make decisions about treatment in the coming weeks.