The pain of losing someone you love never goes away. Sometimes it’s a dull pain and sometimes it feels like someone stabbed you right in the gut. But here’s the thing, DEATH HAS BEEN DEFEATED! I have been thinking about this the last few days and letting it sink deep into my soul…allowing it to seep all the way down into my bones for me to deeply believe it. My worst fear — gone.
Jesus took the worst thing that could ever happen to us and made it the BEST thing that is going to happen to us. Life after death. Heaven. Eternally with Him and with all the ones we love.
I’ve been allowing myself to day dream sitting around a huge table with Him, my brother, my grandma and grandpa….and with everyone I love right next to me. Allowing myself to daydream about what it’s going to be like in complete glory. Could you allow yourself that same freedom? Go sit at your table, close your eyes, and picture Jesus sitting right in front of you. Reaching across the table from you, gently touching your hand. Jesus looking into your eyes, the same look that someone gives you when they know you are in pain, the look that says I love you so much, sometimes without even saying a word. Picture Jesus laughing with you…he is full of JOY. Sitting in front of Him you’d feel this: completely known, completely loved, completely understood, no pain, only joy.
That’s why He came for us. He came to gave us his Holy Spirit. We can sit with Him now and share in this glory. Giving us glimpses of Heaven until He completely restores us all.
Now, here’s the deal. I don’t fully understand any of it. None of us besides God can fully comprehend it. BUT this is what we do know:
God loved us SO MUCH that he put on flesh to come down and live life the way we do. He slept on the ground, built fires, had a job, made friends, was betrayed by friends, cooked food to sustain Him…He came and fully experienced life like we do. Because that’s what love does.
When you love someone, you step into their pain with them. When you have a relationship with someone, you sit around the table with them and listen to what’s on their hearts. When you love someone, you do everything you can to step into what life looks and feels like to them.
This odd-season of not being able to gather around the table with our loved ones maybe the best opportunity to come back and sit at the table with the One who gave it all for us. Because one day, we will all be feasting around His table. Oh. What a glorious day.
“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, ‘This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new convent in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:19-20