Glimpses of Heaven
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.” Romans 8:22-24
Have you ever felt the ache? The ache in your spirit, that even if everything in your life is going well, that there’s more, something missing, something not right? As Christians, we have such an interesting delima: we live in the here and now, and yet we know this life is not the end. Things are not the way they should be. And God is coming back to make things right.
In these moments of ache, it’s good to remind ourselves that one day, God will bring Heaven to earth; the old will pass away, and the new will be what God intended all along (see 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:1-5). For now, we get mere glimpses of Heaven. Be it a hike in the Smoky Mountains, a meaningful moment at camp, or the laughter spilling from my daughter’s face, I want to have eyes to see God moving, Heaving inching a little bit closer in my every day, fallen life. I want to be a carrier of hope to myself, my fellow believers, and the world around me.
Romans 8 says Earth and even our physical bodies are groaning with birth pains, wrestling with the idea that things are not as they should be, and I feel that in my life today. But my prayer is that in the middle of the brokenness, when it’d be easier to despair, I can stop and search for Heaven, wake up to God’s presence all around me, and see He has been there all along.