Today’s Reading : Isaiah 25:1-9
Isaiah 25:8-9
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
With summer in full swing, we have enrolled the kids in the summer reading program. One of the books that the girls love to read is Dr. Seuss, “ Oh, the places that you go”. This outlines the different places that you can go throughout your life. While summer is ramping up, we also have more time to be out and chat with friends and strangers, “Oh, the conversations you can have” .
Every day there’s so many conversations that we have with each other. There are conversations we have with our kids. Their conversations that we have with our spouses. There are conversations that we have with our relatives. There are conversations that we have with our colleagues. There are conversations that we have with strangers, otherwise known as unknown acquaintances. Of these conversations, one of the subjects that has come up in the past several weeks has been: What happens in the afterlife or when we pass away?
It’s interesting when we have conversations with our kids and the thought process that they have about certain things. My youngest child brought up the topic of Heaven a couple days ago. It’s really interesting how they come up with the topic, but we just listen and talk with them. When she was describing Heaven, she said that she remembered it before she was born. She remembers sliding down a slide. She also remembers how she remembers Ruby, her sister playing with her in Heaven. This conversation has me really thinking about eternal life.
Just a couple days ago, I was talking to a random person and we were talking about how amazing God is and how infinite his presence is. We spoke about how God has created time for us, in order that we are able to grasp a little of the infinite knowledge that he has available to us. But God is outside of time. God made time. If God made time, then when we are with him we are outside of time. Take a moment to think about this. When we pass away from our earthly vessels, we are physically with God. In that instant we are there with Him and His glory. In that instant we are outside of time. When we think about our loved ones who have passed away, they are instantly there with God in that moment. And when we transition to Heaven, it would only be like a second or a moment has passed for them, but for us it may be 20,30, 40, or 100 years later.
These conversations and our readings from today from Isaiah Chapter 25: 1-9, all show how God is in control of all things. God swallows up death and destruction. God replaces all of the pain and hurt that we go through on a continuous basis with Grace and Mercy.
In this chapter of Isaiah and the accompanying chapters ,24-27, Isaiah is shown the end of times in what is known as the “Isaiah apocalypse”. The confident thing that we have to see here is in the midst of all of destruction and devastation: God is still in control. In the end of everything God shows us that we are in the midst of his presence and fullness of his glory. Even before time was created, He understood the goodness and a grace that he was going to give us.
Let us not be dismayed by the catastrophes, and the hurt, and the pain, and the isolation, and devastation that we may experience today. Because in the end God has it under control. He has a beautiful feast ready for all to enjoy. Oh, the places that we can go; Oh, the conversations that we can have… to experience the joy of God.
Be Blessed