No other day of the week more reminds us of our other-worldly citizenship than Sunday. How strange it must appear to some who see us rise early, forego leisure and entertainment for a day, gather into sometimes strange looking buildings with copies of an ancient book in our hands. They hear that we sing songs to a God we have never seen, give of our money to a mission that is never completed, listen to a man on a platform as he tells us of heaven above and earth below…how very, very strange indeed. Sundays, if we slow down enough to discern, tell us that this place is not our home and we display that by engaging with others in communal activities that carry the scent of something vastly different than what normally comprises a day in the life of an American citizen. For many Christians this day is the single most precious time of our week and it is not even remotely close to a sacrifice for us to participate. It is pleasure. A pleasure that we hunger for in its final, culminating apex in that glorious, indescribable place we know as Heaven.
“For in this tent we groan, longing…” – 2 Corinthians 5:2 {ESV}
Sundays afford the children of God an opportunity to take what normally might be an ache of hope delayed and turn it into a song of victorious certainty. My brothers and sisters strengthen me when I am with them in the context of Sunday gatherings. Our church is comprised of multiple nationalities, races and generations. We look differently from one another and no pressure is exerted for some pseudo-uniformity that masquerades as oneness. We were created differently by our God and He infuses our individuality with His Spirit which is seen to be the true bond of our connection to one another. We are a hungry lot, gloriously groaning toward that day when our faith will become sight. We are indeed convinced of an exchange of realities coming our way and we confess that we are not satisfied until that savory moment finds us. It is not that life below is not blessed and enriched but, by God’s grace, we have been granted eyes that see superior treasures which await the elect of God. How would a child cling to a patch of land with a mud-puddle when, soon enough, his father will whisk him away to a new land of white beaches and crystal blue seas? The children of God spend our days longing for that great and final door to open which will be accompanied by the voice of a King saying, “Come up here!”
May the God of all grace remind us today that there is much work to be done below. Let us tirelessly engage in advancing His name, His message, His victory and His kingdom – for has He not left us here only for this? May our Lord and Savior place deep within our heart that groaning and may He make us wise not to foolishly seek to satisfy that hunger with anything here below. It brings Him great pleasure to witness our longing for Him. It brings Him further and deeper pleasure to satisfy it. Soon, child of God, soon…we will groan never again.