So much of our struggles center around earth and our lives here. And to an extent, that is good and natural. But we are called to something higher. We are called citizens of heaven, a kingdom not of this earth. So, while we live in the nature God created and feel the ebb and flow of emotions and desires innate to our physical, God-handmade bodies, we also need to circle back around and upwards to what is eternal.
The other day at a Passover seder, the worship leader closed us out with “Hymn of Heaven.”
“There will be a day when all will bow before Him.”
That, sisters, is the grand finale of our time here on earth. The anticipated culmination our lives are heading for. (I feel like there’s a Latin word here I’m forgetting. Any ideas?)
“In the end, we'll see that it was worth it
When He returns to wipe away our tears”
Every year the locusts have eaten will turn into praise as we see, finally see, the One we’ve claimed faith in all these years.
“On that day…[we’ll] stand beside the heroes of the faith.”
We can’t forget that we belong to a whole host of faithful throughout generations, spread across continents and time eras, and representing every personality and idiosyncrasy possible. In Christ, we are members together, witnesses of the only true God, the One who loves us so much He was willing to sacrifice Himself to save our rebellious behinds.
Together we’ll sing, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.”
Because, single sisters, these momentary afflictions will be swallowed up in victory. Our eager waiting will find its blissful home in the presence of Jesus. All will be how it was supposed to be.
So, as we paddle through the waves of families this Easter Sunday, as we join family members and notice our own non-parenthood or non-spouseness, let’s circle back around and up to why we are here, what we are celebrating, the One who holds our eternal identity. May God give us grace to remember our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And if just reading this makes you want to mope, Ize sowwy! I'm not trying to minimize singleness for you right now. Gurl, I've been surrounded with nonstop relationship talk all during my Easter break, and I literally have no prospects. Unless I want to spend $50 to get on Christian Mingle and read the message I was sent. Yeah no. Ok, maybe. I'm not currently severely struggling with singleness--thank God! But, the last thing I want to do is be a voice that says you need to suck it up and not feel anything tomorrow. At my church's Good Friday service yesterday, we heard a clip from a John Piper sermon about the suffering of God and all Jesus suffered for us. He suffered physical torture. I'm a soft American. I would rather go through some emotional anguish than physical pain. But so much of our brothers and sisters in Christ have suffered physically for Jesus. I guess it just brought some perspective. We need to figure out how to give ourselves grace when we are struggling with singleness and also not forget our heavenly citizenship at the same time.
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