Crawling to Soaring

~~~ 1 Maccabees  6:1-13 ~~~ Psalm 9 ~~~ Luke 20:27-40 ~~~

 

Some of the scribes said in reply,
“Teacher, you have answered well.”
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Here we have the religious leaders of the time congratulating

Jesus on 'answering well'.

Another example of how those who were listening were literally hanging on his words.

The officials were always trying to trip up Jesus so they were intent

on picking apart everything that came out of his mouth.

Eventually they became frustrated, as Jesus would continue to answer

in such a way they caused them to stop and think about what they had asked him.

 

The reality is that pretty much everything we think matters

 to us here on earth will not matter after we die. You know that old saying

 'you can't take it with you'; it does not just pertain to material things.

 

It is hard to believe that after we die things will be so completely change,

 that there will no longer be the need for what we have

valued so much in our earthly lives.

The bliss of heaven will fill our soul beyond what anything we have now can.

The happiness we experience here, no matter how wonderful,

 pales on comparison to what is waiting for us in heaven.

 

Whenever I try to reflect on heaven being greater and better than my happiest day

I am reminded of the life cycle of the butterfly.

 

 

When the butterfly is a caterpillar he is fat and happy eating everything in sight.

He is so satisfied with his current life. He is content with where

he is and what he is doing.

Even if somehow he knew that he would

be changed into a beautiful butterfly...

that he would be able to soar high up in the air;

he might be a little skeptical.

 

When you are crawling on the ground

the thought of flying seems utterly impossible.

As humans with our physical bodies the thought that

we will not need the closeness of our loved ones is very foreign.

Honestly, we resist the idea completely. We like to contemplate

being reunited with our loved ones for all of eternity.

 

Of course we must wait until the day

we take our final breath to discover the truth.

The caterpillar eventually receives wings and soars

into the air as a beautiful creature.

We may not be getting wings when we get to heaven,

but the change will be just as dramatic as it is for the caterpillar.

 

Just for a minute consider whether or not the butterfly

 ever longs to return to its caterpillar days.

I would guess the butterfly would never opt to be returned

 to his former caterpillar life even though it was a happy time.

 

So when we get to heaven the transformation will be dramatic.

Such that our earthly relationships will be but a fraction

 of what we will have then experienced.

 

God has given us the ability to experience love

 and physical closeness with others

while here on earth.

This love is just a tiny glimpse of what is in store for us. 

 

Blessings come in the form of our ability to love those

 God places in our life while we are here on earth. 

The more we love and are loved

 the more we will appreciate the day we too

will get our' beautiful wings' in heaven. 

 

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.