LOOK UP

In third grade, I was sent on a quick errand by my teacher only to arrive back to an emptied classroom. For one heart-dropping moment, I thought that Jesus had returned as promised and I had been left behind.

Although this experience may be unusual for a typical nine year old, it was not uncommon for a Sunday School girl like me who knew just enough about her Bible to be dangerous.

All the signs of that era pointed to the culmination of history. The unrest in people’s hearts spilled out into the headlines and around our kitchen table. I committed times tables to memory that year, along with biblical prophecies, and prayed extra hard that I would pass the tests of both.

Yet the decades continued to roll by like the clouds I had waited on to part and I settled too comfortably into the rhythm of this crazy world that writhes and groans, longing for the day when all will be made right again. In doing so, I forgot to keep watch for His promised coming.

And so here I stand again on the threshold of another generation, being emptied of all that is familiar, save one fact: I now know that the times we live in are not to be feared by God’s children, but are to be stepped into with courage as we look up for our redemption.

As men rise to call evil ‘good’ and good ‘evil’, we are to cling to the unchanging truth of the cross of Christ.

As darkness settles over the land and men seek to light their way apart from God, we are to trust in Him to illuminate our path.

And while it is human nature to seek to ease the pain we see with bandages of our own making, we must never forget that the world’s only hope for healing comes from the wounds Jesus bore in its place.

In Christ alone lies our hope, our peace, our justice. 

In Christ alone lies our salvation.

“so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him. “

Hebrews 9:28 NLT