What what IS our "real" ending and our "real" beginning?
I've been thinking about this a lot recently because of all the people who have been dying around us. Kirby & I have 'lost' two friends to cancer within the last few months. One was a mother who left four children and a husband. The other a father to his son and husband.
However, those two that are now 'dead' are actually more alive than ever! They were followers of Christ and here's what they're lookin' at!! The Throne Room of God in Heaven!!
The book of Revelation, although it contains a lot of destruction and violence, is also such a book of hope, beauty, awe-inspiring wonder. It also contains a lot of heavenly vision and worship. Those who think Heaven will be quiet and reverent, haven't read Revelation. There's actually only a one-time half-hour period that "heaven was silent." Read about it Revelation 8:1, that says:
"When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour." Otherwise, read parts Revelation 4, 7, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, and of course 21 and 22.
Many modern-day music composers, as well as George Frederic Handel have used the worship songs in Revelation to inspire us to get our minds off this world, and focus in on the next! The first worship song I learned to play on guitar when I was a freshman in college was from Revelation 5:9-10. Jerry Williams wrote the melody, but John the Apostle copied the words from the 24 Elders and the Four Living Creatures.
"Worthy art Thou to take the Scroll and open all its seals. For Thou was slain and by Thy blood didst ransome men for God. From every tribe and tongue and people and nation have made them a Kingdom. And they shall reign on all the earth!"
And so ends the Ends and Beginnings. Next up: who knows?
We said our "goodbyes" to the King of Pop today, Michael Jackson. His internal pain has ended with his untimely death. Although he was one of the greatest entertainers of all time, in his personal life he really had no peace. As Christians, sometimes our lives seem filled with troubles, but we have the "peace that passes all understanding" through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Today, my son e-mailed me and his other supporters of his summer business internship to thank us for our prayers and financial support. A "get acquainted" project had him and the other interns making a "timeline" of the significant events in their lives. The "timeline" allowed my son to see how much other people had invested in his life to get him to where he is right now. His attitude is one of gratitude and thanks for the blessings he has received! What a difference we see in our lives when we see from the "beginning" to the "end"!
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