The saved
of soul,
Who are
commended to the goal,
To that
which they may enjoy,
Are done
with the past,
And have
achieved peace at last,
Their present is enlivened to
deploy.
***
The older we get the more we tend
to hanker for heaven. Yet, there is an additional thought. The older we get the
more we, also, lament the brevity of our lives.
We lay in a wasteland full of
fleeting treasure. Our lives are abundant with so much spoil, yet so much
sadness. Our lives cannot be adequately described in words; they are too full and
too empty for that. With all of what is in the here-and-now, we may pass over
thought of heaven. Only when a loved one departs do we wonder if we’ll be
reunited one day. These, among a myriad of thoughts, are a smattering on life, and
like life, persist dishevelled.
But salvation is very different.
It can be adequately described. And it is certainly more than the ultimate
destination: Heaven.
Heaven is a very present reality
for the saved, just as much as an eternal homecoming, or deliverance from the
ghosts of past.
Released From The Past – Safe For The
Future
Just as there are at least three
relational dimensions—God, others, and ourselves—there are at least three dimensions
of heaven that we access. Within life we’re conscious of these dimensions:
past, present, and future.
To be saved means we’re released
from the past, which is a thing we can know. We remind ourselves regularly. If
God has released us, to go back there involuntarily is not of God’s doing.
To be saved means our futures are
assured. Though we’ll doubt the promises of God regarding eternity, because
we’re human, we can reassure ourselves anytime. God has prepared a place for
us. Our Mediator of the New Covenant, Jesus, has paved our way.
The Very Liveable And Divine Present
If we’ve reconciled the past as
done and we’re at peace with it, and we see the future hope we have as assured,
we’re left with a thin and easily digestible concept.
The present, without the baggage
of the past or doubting for the future, is beautifully liveable. And great is
God that the average life has thousands of beautifully liveable days. Trillions
of tiny moments lay spangled like stars for us to experience. And although we
do not sense it, each of these moments is divine, and for each of these moments
we’re saved—if we’ve chosen the Father’s Son.
Through the harrowing bad to the
majestic good, and all between, each moment has its purpose. The Lord will show
us at our appointed time. When we imagine every moment as eternal, every moment
is both divine and liveable.
***
Never is there a better thought
than this: God releases us from our pasts and we’re safe for the future, and because
of that salvation is a very present thing. Being saved from ourselves is the
very best thing.
Life is now.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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