12/8/2023
Glimpses Of GloryGuest post by my son Michael Goforth
Nostalgia — Have you ever felt it? That odd mixture of joy and sadness that floods your soul as you encounter something from yesteryear. An old song, a familiar smell, a worn out picture... The dictionary defines nostalgia as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past.” And there’s nothing quite like the Christmas season for bringing out these sentimental longings. We’re happy for that Christmas memory, but we’re simultaneously sad because it’s over. And as we try to sort through it all, we are left with these feelings that we’re not sure what to do with. What is going on here? And what are we to do with these longings? To answer these questions, we need to travel back to a place called Eden and consider how our story began. In Genesis 2:7-8 we read, “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” If you continue reading, you’ll find that Eden was so much more than just a garden. It was a garden paradise, with everything you could want for joy and flourishing. And shortly after creating man, God made the woman. And he graciously gave them Eden as the place they could call home. A sanctuary for them to rest and rejoice in God and his gifts. Tragically, this is not how the story ends. Adam and Eve decided that all of this was still not enough, and they rebelled against God. This ushered sin, death, and brokenness into the world. And it resulted in their removal from Eden. Our first parents were officially exiles, banned from the garden sanctuary that they once called home. And ever since then, their descendants, with the rest of creation, have been longing for Eden (Rom 8:18-24). This is why all of us experience a homesickness of the soul. The world we live in is broken and sin-cursed. And the feelings of longing and nostalgia are echoes of a place we formerly called home. Now we wander through this life as exiles, often participating in the same rebellion of Adam and Eve, looking everywhere but God for fulfillment and satisfaction. So, how did God respond to all of this rebellion and brokenness? He responded with Christmas. He took on flesh and dwelt among us. The infinite God became an infant. Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, stepped into this sin-cursed world, to fix the brokenness that we caused. He lived the perfect life we never could and died the death that we should have died. He then rose again triumphantly to conquer sin, death, and hell forever. And he did all of it, “that he might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). The best part about Christmas is that it’s not over yet. Jesus has promised to come again. That he might rescue our homesick souls and bring us to the only real place that we can call home. A new heaven and a new earth with no more sin, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more brokenness, and no more death. A place of glory where all those who believe can live with God and enjoy Him forever. What if those feelings of nostalgia weren’t meant to make you long for the past? What if they were meant to make you long for the future? Personally, I believe this season, with its odd mixture of hope and longing, joy and sadness, beauty and brokenness—was all meant to be a glimpse of the glory that is to come. The glory that we know will come—because of Christmas. In the coming weeks, we’ll celebrate the sparkling lights, sing along to the beautiful music, marvel at the freshly fallen snow, embrace the warmth of gathering with our favorite people, and so much more. But if you are a Christian, these things are only a foretaste of your future. As C.S. Lewis explained, these things “are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.” In other words, these things are only glimpses of the glory to come. One day, we will truly be home for the holidays, and oh what a glorious homecoming that will be. |
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