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Thinking of God with Larry Sheehy
With God, we will be amazed!
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    In a world where the astounding and extraordinary have become almost commonplace, where it is increasing rare to be really shocked by anything, it is still possible to be happily surprised by the unexpected.  Last Saturday, Carole was showing me some new flowers she had planted along the back of the house.  Most of them were still a little “dull” from their recent transplanting.  But one lone bloom stood out.  Its colors were so brilliant, and its petal design so exquisitely arranged, it was truly amazing!  We can be glad that God the Creator loves such beauty.
    But God’s greatest physical creation doesn’t compare with the amazement that is his Son!  Thirty six times in the New International translation of the gospels, we are told that people were “amazed” at the things they saw Jesus say and do.  The way he related to people - regardless of their place in life - continually caused those who witnessed his life to shake their heads in wonder.  His demonstrations of power over the physical and spiritual elements caused many to devote themselves as his followers.  It even caused some to fearfully ask him to leave their presence.  The reality of his humanity didn’t overshadow the contrast he presented with the world into which he came.  What a wonder it must have been to literally hear him with the ears, to see him with the eyes and to touch him with one’s hands!  (1 John 1:1)
    For the followers of this Jesus...both then and now...the best is yet to come!  Seeking to encourage Christians in Thessalonica about the Lord’s return, and ease their uncertainties about judgment, Paul wrote that Jesus will return to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)
    On the night of his betrayal, Jesus prayed that his apostles could be where he was, and to see the glory he had before the creation of the world (John 17:24).  And Paul, by inspiration, affirms that when Christ appears, then we will appear with him “in glory” (Colossians 3:4).
    The Scriptures are almost silent about what life in the next world will be like, especially the experience of being with God. It’s as if words cannot describe it. And, in reality, they can’t. But we are told that what we will see in Jesus - and, by implication, in the Father and Spirit - will cause us to be truly astonished. Notice 1 John 3:1-3)  It sounds like we will have our mouths fall open in the joyful wonder of the nature and beauty of God.  He who “had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2), will cause us to catch our breath at his beauty and majesty!
    After John’s vision of the glory of the Jesus the Lamb, it is no wonder he could close out his letter with the prayer, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

    Larry Sheehy is the preaching minister at Statesboro Church of Christ. He can be reached at (912) 764-5269 or sborococ@frontiernet.net
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