Well Christmas has come and gone this year once again but this year it has created a whole new view and meaning in my heart and mind. This year, waiting for Christmas brought a new expectation for me. This year I became a grandfather. Our (Susan and I) first granddaughter (Elisabeth Amelia, I call her “Ame”) was born in October and we got to see Ame when she was a week old. Since then it has only been in pictures of short video calls that we have been able to see her. Those pics and video calls are a sweet taste or reminder of Ame. They made me long for her to come at Christmas. The day she got to our house with her parents was a sweet and longed for day. I have held her quite a bit since she has gotten here. Every time I hold her I find my thoughts drifting to how much I love this little girl and how sweet a gift she is from God. My thoughts don’t stop there however. My mind drifts to thoughts of my daughters. I begin to reflect on how sheet a gifts from God they are as well.
Not only was this the first year that I waited for Christmas to see Ame but it was also the first Christmas that I waited for two of my three daughters to come home for Christmas. As I look at and hold Ame, I realize how much I long for that connection and time with her and each of my three daughters. Whenever I am separated from them there is a longing, a pain, a void and an anticipation that never goes away until they are back in my presence. This is true whether they are gone for a short time a short distance away or a long distance for a long time. I long and wait for that sweet reunion.
This last week that realization of what I have been given and what I miss during the separation has made my mind wander to a deeper, stronger void and longing that I don’t think I have ever been able to comprehend until I have experienced just a taste of it. That void is the one that is between God and His fallen creation. I cannot ever fathom how great the longing or desire is for Him as He patiently waits for the day that each and every one of His creations return and be called children of God. That’s right He longs for each and every one of His creations to return to be with Him.
(1 Timothy 2.4; 2 Peter 3.9)
The separation from those who are dearest to us creates something that nothing can fill except the reunion with those loved ones. The reconnection is so precious and the time no matter how short is sweet and life giving.
I don’t think I can even begin to imagine the pain and longing that God experiences while waiting for the return of His creation or the sweetness that is there when they return to Him. Whether it is a return from the separation created by sin or just from those times when those who have been reunited just don’t make time for Him in their lives. Any separation from His creation creates a longing in His heart because His love is so great for each and every one. That Longing was so Great that he Sent the one dearest to Him to become the sacrifice, the bridge that would bring His creation back to Him.
Can you imagine loving and missing someone so great that you would give what was most precious to you that you had with you just to make a way for that which you were missing to be able to return to you. I can’t, but am so thankful that God did. My heart now breaks as I think about God and the longing He experiences as he awaits our return and our time spent with Him.
As we enter the new year let’s not give God reason to long for His time with us and let’s work to share His longing with those who are still separated from Him. We are God’s children, we are His church, let's go be His children, His church!
Pastor Sean