Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Otherside

So we come and go; it's still a mystery
and we'll be history long before we find
All the secrets since now and forever
We hope for better on the other side.

There are days when I feel like I'm ready to go be with God.  I know I'm only 25 and it's way too early to be having an existential crisis, but there are times when I wonder what the point of living in this world is when there is a better one waiting on the other side.  This life is full of sadness and suffering.  The older I get, the more people in my life pass away or leave.  There are so many reminders of decay and death including my own declining health and mounting troubles.  Yet somehow I find that I am more hopeful than ever.

Perhaps it is wanting the other world so much that helps us to see the good in this one.  We see signs of life, signs of goodness, and signs of love all over the place because we are headed to a home that is made of these things. I guess you could say that the hope of heaven turns everything else into hope on earth.  Good things become a taste of what's to come and disappointment becomes hope for something better.

I think we all ache for something more deep inside of our souls.  Even those of us who have intimately witnessed God's power and presence still know that there is something missing in this current life.  We miss our friend whom we have never met in person and we are homesick for a country that we have never seen.  And while the journey may be treacherous, difficult and heartbreaking, I am sure that the Abba Father we have been crying out to all these years will be there eager to welcome us.

To my friends who are suffering and see no end to the struggle, I want to remind you that we have great hope.  God loves you and he covers you with goodness and mercy.  We are almost home.