So often I feel like this:
I had a fleeting thought this morning
And I mentioned You today
It breaks my heart just to know You in part
And not to be with You where You are.
("I Miss You" by Shane and Shane)
This is "the already but not yet" - the tension which illuminates our dual citizenship. I am the citizen of an earthly kingdom and a citizen of a heavenly kingdom. How do I live each day with this tension pulling me in different directions? I know that God wants to bring His kingdom here on earth - that is not something we have to ask for. God has called us - He has invited us - to be part of bringing redemption to all things. We join Him in that. We JOIN God in the renewal of all things. Wow. I love thinking about how even nature is groaning and waiting - eagerly anticipating the day all things will be made new.
So often I find myself caught in the cycle of the daily grind - as if this world is all there is. How dare we live as if we have no hope?! We make light of the cross and the sacrifice of Christ when we live this way. We have been given hope through a new life in Christ - the promise of a life beyond the now we see.
I heard a story once that continually (if I let it) brings perspective and conviction to my heart. A little girl comes home from Sunday School with a cardboard paper towel roll decorated with stickers and glitter glue and paint. Several days later, her mother sees her in the yard peering towards the sky through her "telescope." "What are you doing, honey?" her mom asks. The little girl replies with confidence, "Mommy, Jesus is coming back...and I'm watching for Him." I love the simple faith on display here. Christ has died and Christ is risen and Christ will come again.
May we wait in anticipation for this day - with hope for what is to come. Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Lift your eyes. Proclaim His coming.
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -CSL, Mere Christianity-
About Me
- Kelsey Grace Travis
- Colorado is home but my heart is in New York (where I am studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a concentration in Theology). After high school and before braving the Big Apple, I headed to Bible School in the little town of Friedrichshafen, Germany. My heart is to join Jesus in the Redemption of all things through the avenue of Biblical Counseling.
I think it helps to surround myself when possible with the lost and hopeless. It reminds me that my work here on earth is not complete and that there is a GREAT commission that we've been called to. Sometimes it's fun to be on that mountain top thinking of the future and all that it holds but I'm so glad that God has given us plenty to keep busy with in the mean time.
ReplyDeleteKels- I love your blogs and I wish we lived closer and could go out for coffee and talk on a regular basis. I love you.