Saturday, March 29, 2008

Homecomings, Treasures, and Community

In about 2 hours from now I will leave my house to travel over to Midway to pick up my family as they return from the Spring Break travels. I can not wait for their return. I miss them terribly when they are gone. My wife, is my best friend in the world, and I feel very disconnected as she is several states aways. My oldest daughter constantly challenges my creativity. My middle daughter is my Rock - Paper - Scissors opponent and I have felt quite a hole in my life missing out on a week of competition. The Boy is an adventure as he is discovering his individuality. So although in the midst of the absence of my family my friends have fed me supper and kept me company till the late hours of the evening, I feel like I am wandering aimlessly when they are not around.

So today is our homecoming! As they were gone, I have spent time deciding about what things we will NEED in Africa. My wonderful All Clad pan set, and Le Cruset Stoneware will have to come with us. Our Furniture, Televisions, and Tivos will probably stay behind. Some of the kids toys will make the trek, while others, will be left behind. After a short time the process certainly gets you thinking about treasures.

When we were on our vision trip in Swaziland with Hopechest the team was distributing NEW SHOES that a church back in the states had collected. Although, I was not at all involved with the people handing out the shoes I was present, and made an interesting observation. The children would BAG their old shoes as they came out of the little stick built hut where members of our team were handing out the shoes. These old shoes were worn out, and is desperate need of replacement, yet to the Swazi orphans, they were a treasure that needed to be protected and returned home.

All of this kind of meshed together in my brain this morning, as I was cleaning and preparing for the family to come home. In Revelation 21:4 Jesus promises all things are being made new. HE at the center of EVERYTHING become renewal. In the New Heavens and Earth, our final homecoming where all the community of God's People will be at rest all these treasures whether a stainless steal pan, or a worn out shoe will appear just a futile. In light of the true homecoming of being restored to the greatest treasure of all our aimless meandering, and useless hoarding will melt into the eternal community of life.

Repentance, I don't mean the silly telling God I want to behave better than I have in the past. True Repentance, the kind that is traitorous to our previous allegiances, treasures, and communities; calls us out celebrate that homecoming now. I am PRESENT in the NEW HEAVENS and EARTH with Christ when I am GATHERED in HIS COMMUNITY to RESTORE HIS TREASURES to the broken places of this old earth. I celebrate the peace of homecoming when I am working in community to break bondages, and proclaim life!

This is a resolution! I resolve to live in the REAL PRESENCE of the NEW KINGDOM, NOW by treasuring the broken, by restoring the lonely to community, and by working alongside Christ to bring to reality when all things are made new.

1 comment:

Elysa said...

Amen!

And give Christi a big ole hug for me.