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The Promised Gift
Life can be cruel. That is a fact. There are too many real life stories that prove the point. It would be naive to deny it.
Yet, at the same time, God is real. And He is a God of love, and beauty, and justice.
How can the two coexist? How is that possible?
I don't know. I only now that both are true. Like two parallel lines that don't seem to intersect.
The more cruelty, pain and injustice I see in the world, the more I long for the day that is promised in the Scriptures - a day when His will is done on earth as it is in heaven, when justice prevails, when tears and heartache are a thing of the past, and every heart praises Him .. it is coming, because the One who is truth has promised it.
During a particularly difficult time in my life, it seemed that every time I went to the Lord, He reminded me of the day that was coming. I wanted to say, "I know. But that day is so far away. I need help now." It wasn't until much later that I understood.
My son was about seven years old, and he wanted something for Christmas that we would not have been able to get for him. But his grandparents pitched in, and we bought the gift. I couldn't wait for Christmas that year! I wanted to see the expression on his face when he opened the gift.
I think that is the way God feels about the day that is coming. To us it feels like an eternity - like two weeks before Christmas to a seven year old - but to Him, it is as if it were just around the corner. And He can't wait to see our faces.
The gift of that day is big. It is real, and it is coming.
-Maria Lund