Jesus, Joy of Heaven - Jesus, Joy of Earth Part 2

The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things - If I Stand, Rich Mullins

In Part 1 I bemoaned my state as I considered being more attracted to the stuff of heaven than the Person, but now I turn my attention to the stuff of earth. You may wonder why I started with heaven rather than earth. I am not exactly sure to be honest. It seems to me that the trappings of earth would be more on my mind than those of heaven. Yet, as I think of it, that does not always hold true.

Everywhere I look here I do see beauty and opportunities for comfort. Whether it is my wife when she gets home from wherever she had been or my bed after an exhausting day this world is full of attractive things. Yet, it is also punctuated by the unpleasant. Pants that don't quite fit like they used to; shrinking retirement accounts; fluid on my knee. Yet in the midst of all of the goodness and badness is the same constant that heaven holds: Jesus.

It is so spiritual for me to insist that my joy is wrapped up in the hope of heaven. Yet what of the Hope of Heaven? God's gifts compete for my attention and it is not his fault. He delights to lavish me with incomparable gifts. Yet what of the Incomparable Gift? This joy of heaven that is wrapped up in his son is the same joy of earth. He is not obscured, hidden, hard to see nor is he hiding or playing hard to get. His presence is shouted in the gifts to which I offer my allegiance.

This side of heaven I have everything I need to find my joy in Jesus just like I do on the other side. I lack nothing. So, it really didn't matter if I started with heaven or earth. I am still a mess. Thanks be to God he didn't leave me there. I am so glad he saw a better life for me and gave it to me. Help me love you more than the things you give me or will give to me God. You know I need that all too well.  

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