That Great Day

And when he appears, to wipe all our tears forever away....-Jonny Lang


I used to wonder what it meant to be "heavenly minded" and why I wasn't as much so as I felt I should be.

My faith, it seemed to me, was lacking since my thoughts of heaven were fleeting at best and somewhat vague. To have thoughts of heaven, I felt, would of necessity involve thoughts of standing before Jesus and beholding, for the first time, His lovely face.

I must admit I have had trouble conjuring images of Jesus' face. But I recall his saying, "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me."

So maybe in a sense I have seen Jesus; in the face of an aged saint as we sat and visited and smiled together, or in the faces of my brothers and sisters in Christ whenever we sit down to share a meal and enjoy the sweet fellowship of laughter, tears and sharing our innermost thoughts.

I have come, in this past year, to long more for heaven as I have seen friends and loved ones called home and shared the grief of those who have suffered loss as well.

As much as I have loved life, it seems every day to be more a blessing as I see more clearly the final goal at which we, God's blessed children, are aiming.

Trials and troubles? Oh yes, we will always have those.

Well, not always.

There will be that great day. Isaiah foresaw it. As did John. Jesus spoke of it. Paul looked forward to it.

"Behold, I make all things new." This is the promise.

And we look forward to that great day.