The Great Escape

by Allen White


After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18


What if we could leave all of our problems behind? One day we will.


One day the national debt will be a thing of the past. Evil will be eliminated. Terrorism will find a peaceful end. Every disease will be eradicated, and every body will be healthy. Everything that everyone on the planet is fighting over will become a moot point. Protesters will give praise.


The life we live on this earth is not forever, but there is a life that is everlasting (1 John 5:11). Those of us who belong to Christ are destined for another place (John 14:2). The time we spend on earth is just a drop in the bucket.


This doesn’t mean that we should start living irresponsibly. We shouldn’t rack up debt because “Jesus paid it all.” That’s not where these thoughts are going.


One day, when we least expect it, God is going to take us home. It may just be one of us at a time or it could be the day when God takes us all at once. We will shed the worries and limitations of these bodies and this planet. We will be at home with God.


I must admit, this is not something that I think about very much. It’s easy to become so overwhelmed with life that we completely lose perspective. Newscasters tell us all of the bad news. News commentators keep our glasses half-full. But, there is a life that is deeper than all of the busyness we face on the surface.


We gain glimpses of eternal life when we connect with God in worship. For some, worship is accompanied by music. For others, we connect with God in nature, by serving, through study, or in a rigorous theological debate.


When we look into the faces of young children and see their unbridled joy, we get a sense of the life God intends for us. But, we got so serious. And, there are serious things that we are responsible for.
Julian of Norwich put it well, “What God most wants is to see you smile because you know how much God loves you.”


I hope you smile today.


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