Does that sound like the title to a cool new children's book? Maybe not.
My daughter, who is eight-years-old, is anxiously awaiting the return of our Lord Jesus.
She's waiting in expectation that it could happen at any time.
We read this passage together recently.
Acts 2:17-21
17'In the last days, God said,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
upon all my servants, men and women alike,
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below —
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon will turn bloodred,
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.'
NLT
Last night, as I was tucking her in, she jumped out of bed, and went to her window, knocking things over, trying to catch a glimpse of the moon. I thought she was trying to see the phase of the moon, because I'm such a FANTASTIC teacher, she would be studying on her own the things we've learned...but I was totally wrong.
I asked her why she needed to see the moon?
She said "I try to look at it every night, so I will know if it's red and Jesus is coming back. I WANT TO BE READY."
I love this girl. I love the way she loves the Lord.
I love the way the Holy Spirit uses her to convict me.
She has done this before, when a storm was coming, she thought maybe Jesus was coming back. She watches the sky for the slightest sign, fully expecting to see Jesus burst through the clouds.
We can all chuckle, and say "how cute."
But the truth is, He is coming back. And we'll all be surprised...except for Emma.
She'll say "I told you so!"
She's living in expectation of his return.
I have to admit, I am not.
I mean, I know He IS coming back, and I'm longing for that day! I'm beginning to hurt for it. I want to be home with our Father, and hear the music in heaven (cause the band is gonna rock!) and dance around the throne!
But in my everyday life, I don't think about it much. I think about all the junk I have going on down here. I am caught up in the here and now, when Colossians tells me to set my sights on things above!
My daughter is living with an eternal perspective.
I need to. I need to see everything in my life through the lens of eternity. I need to stop acting like I have all the time in the world to talk to all the people in my life about Christ that I am unsure about their salvation.
I need to not let the little things in life swallow up all my emotions and energy, as if today is all I'm living for.
I need to care the most about all the things God cares about the most.
I need to start watching the sky and checking the moon with my Emma, and living in expectation that our time here is short. A change in our perspective is bound to result in a change of our hearts and actions.
We don't know when He's coming back. But we ought to live like we're ready. My eight-year-old taught me that.
5 comments:
There is a great book that will help adults have this child-like perspective called 'Heaven' by Randy Alcorn. After reading just parts of it, I was SO excited. Nothing here compares, but at the same time, it gets frustrating that we don't get to go today. Thank you for this reminder.
And I pray that today our citizenship would really be in heaven, so that when Jesus comes back, the only thing that changes is him being right here, with us and taking us home. Yay!
That is so neat-- children teach us so much!
It's so often the case that our words don't match our actions-- in this case, we say we believe Christ will return, but we don't live with that anticipation. To our kids, they believe it and live it.
I pray that your girl continues her passion and zeal for the Lord, and that you're all strengthened together in Him.
I love that you share these things with your blog fans. So exciting and so convicting. And it convicts in the good way - the there's-greater-joy-in-living-like-that way. :)
Way to be, Emma! So glad your our sister.
I cannot wait until Katherine and Caroline are doing things like that. The faith of a child is so precious.
Just wanted you to know that I love your blog. It has really inspired me in raising our family.
I knew Rusty from the Prime Time class at Second Baptist in Houston. I'm not stalking him.... :) I found your blog through your mom's blog - we were going to adopt from New Life and ended up going back to the foster care system when our adopted son's bio sister was born.
Anyway, thank you for not doing anything even remotely mediocre in your life! :)
Take care,
Donna
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