For awhile now I’ve been needing it.
In reality, I always need it, but sometimes I know it more
than others. I need it in order to go
on. I need a glimpse, a taste, a slice.
I need a slice of the dawn.
It’s a bit egotistical of me to believe that Jesus will
break through the eastern skies precisely at dawn at Eastern Standard Time upon
His return, making it dawn for those of us in this span of earth but not for
the other billions scattered over it.
Maybe He’ll mess with the morning light and make it dawn for
everyone. Or maybe it’s not really that
important. Maybe it’s just me who has
this fascination with a sunrise exploding with His presence. Or maybe not.
These days, I’ve been feeling like I need a glimpse of it, a
glimpse of the scene that both terrifies and satisfies me. A glimpse that gives me undivided certainty
that He is the Mighty Conqueror. A sneak-peak of the day when I will be fully-known.
The chains of time weigh heavy on our immortal souls. For me, that weight is often dulled by distraction. A busy lifestyle, an ever-present Facebook
feed, a fridge, whatever it may be. But
then along comes something that slices through all of those cushy barriers I
allow and cuts deep inside to retrieve that deep longing. The longing that I can hardly even name.
How is this ache uncovered?
For me, it’s a number of things.
A magnificent show of clouds and sun on a background of blue; a story that draws me in so deeply I hardly know how to get out; songs that bring unexplained tears to
the surface; kids who draw me into their world of wonder; friends who know me in
a glance. All of these and so much
more. It’s the stuff of heaven that's cloaked
with the skin of earth.
Lately it’s been an album, songs with the perfect
combination of words placed on a musical score that sneaks deep into my heart
and pulls back the layers leaving this longing, this ache, fully revealed.
It woke me up long before my alarm this morning.
So, I poured some coffee, grabbed a blanket, and headed to
the deck to watch the dawn come. I asked
the Giver of Life to give me a glimpse of Him in this ache. To remind me that one day this ache will be
replaced with a full understanding of myself, of Him, and of the world.
The rooster crowed,
the leaves fell, the sun began its slanting turn. The world awakened around me, giving me a
glimpse of His might. My heart stirred,
my page filled, my soul quieted. And in
the middle of all the action, my eyes began to see.
I have a slice of dawn.
I don’t live in the dawn yet, but I can see pieces of it. I am placed smack in the middle of a
masterpiece of a world that is a beautiful glimpse of who its Creator is. I rub elbows with other immortals all day
long, seeing yet another slice of His majesty.
I have the written Word that reveals His heart and His ways. I have the Holy Spirit residing within me,
joining me on the ups and downs of this thing called life.
Slice, slice, slice, slice, chunk.
He allowed a sword to slice through His heart so that one
day the chains of time will bind us no more.
In that unbinding, we will live fully for who we are. I can’t wait for that day, for the dawn. But in the meantime, He gives us so many
sweet reminders of His grace, of His presence.
It’s so good to live unforgotten in the in-between.
For now we see only a
reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
