“Another Adventure”

When I was young (er), I used to dread Mondays…. another 5 days before the weekend…a week of school and homework and exams or a week of humdrum work. I longed to exclaim  “TGIF…. Thank God it’s Friday.”

When in college and the stress level would get really high, I’d pull out the ole imaginary  “Magic Carpet”.On this carpet, you could travel anywhere you wanted, it could fit all your friends, it had a fully stocked bar, and an unlimited cash drawer… it included free reservations at the best resorts.  I think you get the idea. Judy would know things were getting bad when I’d start talking about getting out the “Magic Carpet”…. Oh no, not the Magic Carpet again.

As related in earlier BLOGS, my life took a 180° turn back in 1972 when I was Baptized In The Holy Spirit. I stopped dreading life and began to embrace it. I began to look forward to the plans that God had for the coming days…whether Monday or Friday. The “Magic Carpet” became a thing of the past. 

So, even though I don’t think about going to the Caribbean  on the Magic Carpet any longer, I do think about going on a special trip… I do have a longing for something more. I do have a longing for heaven. How do you talk about heaven…. how do you describe it… who has been there and  returned to talk about it ? 

C.S. Lewis does a wonderful job of “wetting our appetite” about heaven. He does have a way with words:

• “All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read which goes on forever in which every chapter is better than the one before.” Source: “The Last Battle” (1956)
• “The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.” Source: “The Weight of Glory” (1949)
• “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” Source: “Mere Christianity” (1952)

In the Lord of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins was getting antsy and exclaimed “ I think I’m quite ready for another adventure”. 

Well, maybe Bilbo was ready for another adventure, but you and I still have work to do on this earth for the kingdom of God. We are the “Church Militant” fighting the good fight of faith. We need to embrace the call and mission that the Lord has for us today.

As I remember hearing from a Pentecostal minister years ago, “we need to keep our head in the clouds, but our feet  on the ground”. Let’s keep our eyes on the goal of heaven, but continue to give 100% to serving the Lord on this earth. At some point, the Lord will make it clear that it’s time for another adventure… it’s time for heaven where we will be with the Lord and “ every new chapter is better than the one before”.  Sounds a lot better than the “magic carpet”.