Monday Missive #27
Living In-between
Normally I do comment on the poems and prayers in my Monday Missives. I let them stand on their own. However, today’s writings came from my reflecting on the end of this year and the beginning of another. It seems as if life is getting more complicated each year. I think a major reason for this is the increased presence of evil in the world. Yet we, as Christ Followers, have the assurance the He is coming back (the second Advent) to make all things good- as they were in the beginning. The tension we have however, is that we live in the “in-between.” We are eternal beings, longing
for our eternal home while living in a messed up world. As you read the poem below, I encourage you to reflect on that fact and pray that God will teach us how to live rightly in this world, while looking forward to the next. Which prompts me to say…
Happy New Year! Come, Lord Jesus!
A Poem: All That Is Eternal
All that is eternal In my heart, In my soul, In my mind, Longs for his completion In and of me; A heart that loves the world, As he does. A mind tuned to thoughts, Matching his. A soul that is holy and pure, As he is. All that is eternal within me, Longs for new earth, Where death is unknown, Where justice reigns, Where hurt doesn’t exist, Were tears are no more, Where we will live forever In his eternal presence. Where new heaven And new earth connect; All that is eternal within me, Cries out, cries out, Come, Lord Jesus!
A Prayer: Teach Me To Live
Lord, teach me to live between two worlds. Help me discover how to negotiate, Being in this world, but not of it. Help me to think and act today, As your child, Created in your image, Heir to divine royalty. Lord, help me to wait expectantly For your return that ushers in A new heaven and a new earth, Where I will forever live. In the present, Lord, Help me to live in this world, Reflecting your glory, Praising your name, Sharing your love.
A Passage: For Reflection
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:
“Look, God's dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Then the one seated on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new."
(Revelation 21:1-5 CSB)