I planned my post for this week without realizing that today would be the end of the year. It’s actually pretty fitting to think about as we end our year.
I attended college in downtown Chicago. I really loved my time there. After living in Colorado Springs, one of the adjustments I had to make was walking and using public transportation instead of driving everywhere. And not getting lost–I still haven’t figured out how in the world people who don’t live near mountains navigate. People used to tell me to just remember the lake was east, but you can’t see the lake the same way you can see the mountains. Anyway! My friends and I would joke about the “homing instinct.” Basically, if you’re out walking and you see your house, you unconsciously speed up even if you’re exhausted–it’s like you get a sudden burst of energy.
I think this phenomenon is why Paul says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thess 4:16-18 NIV, emphasis mine)
It’s easy when we look at the broken world around us to get weary. It’s easy to be worn out with the cares of life–the day in-day out grind of everyday living and the stress that comes from out of ordinary circumstances. But all this isn’t forever. We know that Jesus will come again. We know that we will live with Him forever in new bodies that are healthy and strong in a perfect environment without sorrow or sin.
Reading through those verses in Thessalonians I was reminded that I need to focus on that end daily, to remind myself that the stress of being a broken person in a broken world is only temporary.
There’s an end in sight. Let your homing instinct take over. 🙂
