We live in a contemporary world of fast food have it your way sandwiches, instantaneous Google searches, cell phone communication in our pockets, GPS systems in our vehicles, 24/7 cable news in our homes, ruinous credit limits to buy versus save, instant hot water devices, movies on demand, etc., etc. All of these realities of instant gratification were created to satisfy our seemingly innate desire to have it now! The virtue of patience is shoved aside and trampled.
One of the oldest questions that has dogged mankind forever is “Why wouldn’t a loving God simply have maintained a perfect world in the first place and bypassed all this pain and heartbreak”? That’s a really fair question. Perhaps the answer may lie deep in the book of Revelation, a visionary book of extreme apocalyptic symbolism probably written by an aging apostle John who had been exiled on the island of Patmos decades after Jesus’ death on the cross. The oppressive Roman Empire was still in power and still very oppressive. John’s vision gives us some insight into the realm of heaven, specifically the brilliant colors beyond anything seen on earth surrounding God’s throne. Like Ezekiel’s vision, John views four magnificent creatures, who like the Cherubim (the highest order of the angels) worship God 24/7. Day and night they never stop saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come”. God had already created beings that lived in perfection. But perhaps he sought to create a being with the free will and choice to worship him in relationship. That implies providing an environment with the choices of good and evil, acceptance and rejection. Perhaps an environment where patience is a free will choice to joy and the ultimate prize takes the patience of a lifetime to acquire.
No comments:
Post a Comment