Through a Glass Darkly

My husband, Earl, and I were talking the other day about heaven, and how we were eager to see what it is really like. Not eager enough to jump in front of a truck or anything, but really looking forward to finding out what beauty there is, experiencing it, and being totally renewed.

Scripture gives us hints, of course, with some descriptions of the walls and gates, the throne and the river that flows from it, the sea of glass, the tree of life that bring healing to the nations, and the Father and Jesus Himself, who are the temple.

Earl brought up that verse in 1 Corinthians 13 that talks about seeing through a glass darkly, and we talked about seeing the back yard through the frosted bathroom window. We can see light, and we can tell there's something green, but how amazing the back yard would seem if all we had ever seen of it was through that frosted glass.

Then I thought about my visit a long time ago to the Grand Canyon. My family had arrived well after dark, and we had a small "rustic" cabin. (I didn't realize "rustic" meant no bathroom facilities!!). We hiked up to the main lodge for obvious reasons, and stood in the great room with large windows looking out on the view. But it was dark outside, and while we could see there was something out there, mostly we just saw our own reflections. We got up close to the windows and peered out, and were able to make out a few details, but they were sketchy at best. Imagine our delight when we saw the grandeur of the canyon the next morning!

And our view of heaven is rather like that, isn't it? Much of what we think it will be like is a reflection of who we are and what we believe. But the closer we get to the Word, which is the window that we have into heaven, the more we see some of the real features. But it won't be until that bright new Morning when we are there that we will really know what it is like. And its grandeur will pale in comparison to the Grand Canyon.

Are You Thirsty?

It occurred to me as I looked over at my half-finished cup of coffee, my almost empty bottle of diet Coke, and a nearly full bottle of water, that I'm not often really thirsty. I sip on something most of the day, and while I have a nagging desire for something in my mouth, I don't really feel "thirsty."

And I've also noticed that when I drink mostly water, I want more water, and when I drink other things like soda, coffee, or tea, water doesn't really appeal to me that much. I think there's a spiritual application in here somewhere...

Jesus is the Living Water, and when I return time and time again to quench my thirst in Him, I long for more and more of the Water only He can give. But when I drink from the cups the world offers, my thirst -- my real thirst -- is masked. I have a gnawing feeling of not being satisfied, but it's not hollering for attention. And so, I go on checking email and listening to the radio and working and shopping and visiting... but what I need to be doing is drinking the Living Water.

My problem is that I'm just not soul-thirsty enough. How about you? Are you thirsty for the Living Water, or are you content to be pseudo-satisfied with the luke-warm, mind-numbing grog of the world?