There are people in our lives who have helped us at some point so much that we don’t know how we could ever repay them. These are people we love and want to be with. We call them friends, close friends. Over a lifetime there may have been many such friends. There are a few however, at least for Sherri and me, that not even the passing of time and hundreds of miles which separate can diminished that friendship. We met such special friends in 1983 in Ft. Worth Texas. Sherri and the girls and I had moved there, and we didn’t know anyone in that steamy hot land. In less than a week we were homesick for our Kentucky home. To make a long story short, which was a miracle from God, we went to a church we picked at random, and it was there we met our friends, the Stinson’s.
After three years we moved back to Kentucky leaving our friends who had loved us, ministered to us and helped us far more than we deserved. And to this day we have reminded close friends. We try to get together once a year. We visit either in Ft. Worth or wherever we might happen to be living. Sometimes we meet at other locations. This year we are planning on meeting in Denver Colorado. After a year of being apart our reunions are sweet and joyous. The anticipation of seeing each other grows as the time nears. Many people are scurrying about the airports where we meet, but our friends are the only ones we are excited to see.
What if on one of our trips to see each other our reaction was different? For instance, as Sherri and I approach the baggage claim where we usually meet our friends I happened to see one of my favorite Major League Baseball players from my childhood, let’s say Willie Mays. And instead of rushing to see Christi and David I ignored them and run in the opposite direction to see Willie. How do you think my friends would feel? I don’t think that would be what they expect, and they probably would be hurt.
When we die and go to heaven there will be many of our friends and relatives scurrying about heaven. Our parents, grandparents, children and dear friends may be there. As we anticipate going to heaven who is it that we can’t wait to see? Who do we look forward to seeing the most? I’m sure at the appropriate time we will have those reunions with those we knew pre-heaven. But when we enter the glory of heaven the One who will immediately get our attention is Jesus. His glory will far exceed and erase any anticipation of seeing mom, dad, our children or any friend.
So how does Jesus feel when on earth as we anticipate going to heaven our thoughts, our premier longings are always focused on first seeing our dearest loved ones? Our love for the One who died for us, who loves us far more that the love of a mom, a dad or anyone else, the One who saved us from sin and an eternity in hell, and who will be waiting with open arms as soon as we breathe our last breath here on earth, it is He whom our hearts should compel us to long to see. Our love for our Lord and our Savior must burn in our hearts so that our love for all others would pale in comparison. Yet our supreme love for Jesus will cause our love for all others to flourish beyond what our worldly hearts could ever achieve. Our extreme love for Jesus will put our anticipation for heaven on the proper perspective. As an old song boldly proclaims about our first moments in heaven, “As I enter that city of glory...I will say, ‘I want to see Jesus the One who died for me!” May these words crescendo in our hearts until that glorious day!
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