Brian and Mabel recently received the great news that their adoption of Mehret is all set. They leave in the middle of April for Ethiopia to pick up their 5 year-old daughter. Praise God.
Mehret knows she has a family in Michigan that wants to adopt her. She’s received cards and pictures of her new family. She even has a few pictures of her room, her new house, and the community of Charlevoix. She knows that is where she is headed to live with her new family, the Carsons.
Imagine for a moment what is going on inside her head. She doesn’t really know the Carsons. She’s never been to Charlevoix or Michigan or the United States. She’s seen pictures, but pictures are a far cry from the actual experience – of being in the place you see in the pictures.
Her life is different today because of what she anticipates in the future. She knows she’s leaving, so I’m sure there are a lot of mixed feelings. “Do I really want to leave? I’ll miss this or that or him or her. But I have a new family who says they love me and has a room for me and new stuff.” Because of where she is going, it affects how she views her life today. We experience this same thing when we have a vacation coming or we’re pregnant or about to get married. We look at our life today differently because of what is coming in our future.
As you consider this journey you're on with Jesus, what is the destination? What does the future hold for you? These are important questions and how you answer these questions affects how you live today. Is there a better place, a better day, a better life coming? Or is this the best there is? Can you affirm the song that says, “This world is not my home”?
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world – the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches – comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.
1 John 2:15-17
“It’s summit day.”
I clearly remember those words coming from the mouth of our guide. It was the day we were going up to the top of the mountain. We were going to climb up to 14,000 feet. It was an exhilarating experience. The oxygen got quite a bit thinner. The effort it took to climb was more intense. All of us kept looking up to see if we could see where we were headed. The summit was never easy to see until you reached to top.
What a view. It was worth all the effort, all the struggles, all the pain and hunger and discouragement. To see from the top was more satisfying than any of us imagined. We took pictures. We gave hugs and high fives. We sat and enjoyed the view. It was glorious. You could see all around you. You could see further than you’d ever seen before. What a joy.
But sooner than anyone wanted it was time to climb down. We couldn’t stay or live on the summit. We had to head back down into the valleys.
But there is a day coming when we will stay on the summit. We won’t climb down. We won’t live in the valleys any longer. We will enjoy the mountain top eternally. There will be no letdowns, no suffering, no brokenness, no discouragement. We will be home because home is on the summit with the guide who has brought us here. We will not know what it all looks like until we get there. We have a few pictures and glimpses like Mehret but we won’t really KNOW until we are there. That will be home. That is home. Everything else is just what we see in a mirror dimly.
Live for the summit.
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