My Real Country

Driving back to campus last weekend, after a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s break, Colorado threw one of its infamous weather temper tantrums. Most of you are fully aware of Colorado’s bipolar qualities, but let me explain the specifics anyway.

Leaving my house, the sun was shining and smiling brightly, warming Colorado Springs to 50 degree t-shirt weather. However, upon turning onto the main road from my neighborhood, I noticed dark, ominous clouds to the north and west. Thirty seconds later, rough winds began to pull at my vehicle from seemingly all directions. Soon after, before I had even reached the interstate, snow began to fall like rain – clouding my vision, but melting the instantly upon contact.  The clouds threw in some hail and the odd mixture of snow and ice that natives refer to as “graupel.” Meanwhile, the snow thickened to just above white-out conditions. This lasted for another twenty minutes of travel along the interstate before the snow was replaced with soft rain. Upon summiting Monument Hill, not only did the white expanse seem to lift, but the sky’s tears again withered under the sun’s rays. I basically encountered all four seasons in less than half an hour.

And I am thankful, because I will never forget that image, coasting down into the valley, gazing at the surrounding plains. I wish I could have pulled over to snap a few pictures, because words do the image no justice; nevertheless, I will do my best. Surprisingly large patches of crystal blue sky graced the horizon, met by puffs of cotton ball clouds rising from the mountain ridges I love so dearly. The clouds looked like the breath of the mountains, wreathing them in wonder and mystery. Through the haze, you could see browns and greens below their snow-covered heights.

Fittingly, Keith Urban began to croon through my speakers, “I’m alive and free, who wouldn’t wanna be me?” In that moment, I relished the beauty of God’s handiwork, as well as the nature of life. The clouds still loomed full of harrowing peril and fear, but now they stormed behind me, representing triumph in my rearview mirror instead of clouding my vision of the journey ahead. Leaving the danger, trouble, and caution behind, the rolling hills and glorious peaks stood radiant before me in the light of day.

And yet, while these thoughts were still forming in my head, I passed three lonely, driverless cars, along the right shoulder, covered in snow. Abandoned, whether in the face of the elements or mechanical trouble. I couldn’t help thinking those poor vehicles were so close. They almost made it to freedom, to joy, to the warmth of the sun. Instead, they stalled under the deluge of resistance.

They gave up.

I realized this is a representative of much of life. I’ve used analogies regarding steering and road trips in much of my previous writing, particularly when addressing the topic of surrender. However, in far more general terms, the Christian walk is about loving God and loving others, and glorifying God in that as we deal with the trials and joys found here earth. Unfortunately, many people do not succeed. They lose hope, forgetting the prize and the bliss that awaits those faithful to the Father. Their lives rest like empty shells, perhaps in tact on the outside, but broken where it counts.

I want you to do something that I, personally, am striving to do more frequently: think about what you truly believe. That the God of the Universe loves you like His own Son, whom He sent to die. To DIE, that you might have LIFE.

Because of HIM, this is not our home.

We’re made for a grander country.

We will spend an eternity in Paradise. An eternity. A forever. That’s always, y’all.

Unimaginable? Heck yes. This life seems so long, so central, that it is impossible for us to look beyond it. It cannot be that all this is temporary, right? Forever seems like so utterly far away. But how beautiful is it, friends, to truly ponder that we have so much more to look forward to? Does it not stir excitement in you, place your soul in a state of sheer awe? As wonderful as daily life gets, it is bland compared to the beauty of knowing Christ and praising Him forever. This is what the Great I AM has planned all along.

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” – John 14:2-3

So when life is peaceful, use this hope to remind you why you have that blessing. When your days grow complacent, use this hope to renew your zeal. When life remains turbulent and difficult, use this hope to keep you going. We cannot forget it. We cannot forget WHY Christ made His magnificent sacrifice, and we cannot forget why the way we live is so important. Take a look at Revelation. Maybe, for once, don’t ponder the questions and debates of HOW the end will come, but take a look at the last few chapters that talk about the bliss He has so graciously promised. Remind yourself that one day you will break through the whiteout conditions and the hazy weather to see His splendor shining all around. And then we can declare like C.S. Lewis’  Unicorn in The Chronicles of Narnia – The Last Battle: 

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it until now…. Come further up, come further in!”