October 12, 2021 – Click here to listen
I took my boat to get it serviced this morning and left just prior to sunrise. As with most mornings it looked like it might rain with high dark clouds but when the sun came up as I maneuvered out of the harbor it was glorious. Black clouds were quickly adorned with a silver lining which yielded to the reds, yellows, and oranges of the sun reflecting on clouds as far as the eye could see.
The ocean was sparkling, and birds were making their way offshore to find breakfast. John Piper once said, “The best news of the Christian gospel is that the supremely glorious Creator of the universe has acted in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection to remove every obstacle between us and himself so that we may find everlasting joy in seeing and savoring his infinite beauty.” That quote was certainly encouraging for me as I glided across God’s ocean. The key in Piper’s quote was the word everlasting. We will see sights unseen in addition to the glory we see on this planet. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”
I can’t even imagine what remains unseen, but I did see this morning a smidgeon of the glory God has created. It reminds me of viewing a tantalizing peach hanging on a tree awaiting its time to fully ripen and delight us at the harvest. It requires patience to wait until it is fully mature and ripe for the harvest, just as it requires patience to endure our present trials and the Bible states in Romans 8:22 – We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
Groan is an excellent choice of words. It is perfect for how I feel every time I watch the news or view the suffering and darkness and repercussions of sin. But again, we must work towards attaining that pesky attribute called patience as we await the perfect time when the glory of God will be revealed in us and our surroundings. Therein lies the solution for enduring tough times. We must keep our eye on the prize that is directly ahead of us and trust the Lord. It is easier when one takes a look around and sees the tantalizing beauty of this little blue marble hung in space by our magnificent Lord and Savior.
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”