“Hymn of Promise”

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed an apple tree; In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody; There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me. From the past will come the future; what it holds a mystery, Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our End is our beginning; in our time, infinity; In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity, In our death a resurrection; at the last, a victory, Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Dear God, I was struck by this poem/song from a funeral I attended yesterday and I decided to keep the program so I could talk with. You about it later. Now is the later.

My life of faith and following you is such a frustrating process because I seem to be incapable of seeing at any given moment how far I have to go. Maybe that’s for my own good–after all, I’m a firm believer in the concept that you keep me on a need-to-know basis–but my life seems to be a slow process. I read this poem and it reminds me that there is so much that we don’t/can’t see and reassures me that you can.

I just came back from the movie “I Can Only Imagine.” It’s a Christian movie. No offense meant to you, but I usually avoid Christian movies because I too often take issue with their presentation. I saw the preview for this one, however, and decided to take a chance. The song of the same title that is woven through the movie meant a lot to me when I first heard it in church about 16 years ago, and the preview made it look like it would deal with humanity in an honest way. I was right to take a chance. It was good.

For the first third of the movie, I was wondering if the main character’s father was really the protagonist in the story (much like in Star Wars Episodes 1-6, the real protagonist is Anakin Skywalker and not Luke like we are led to believe in Episode 4). He seemed to be the one who was driving the story. But as the movie played out, I started to see a different message. This wasn’t a movie about a terribly sinful man repenting and cleaning up his act (that would have been the kind of lazy writing that keeps me from watching Christian movies). Instead, it was about a son who clung to you as a child, but didn’t figure out how to do it and to be free for another 15 years. He tried. He did a lot of things right on paper. He loved you. He worshipped you. He tried to make a living doing Christian/Godly things. But it took a while before his heart was transformed.

I texted a friend after the movie that we all wish that becoming a mature Christian could be done with a microwave, but the process seems to be more akin to a crockpot. It’s a slow cook. You have to tenderize us and soak us in your juices. Our hardness needs to be broken down. Those are things a microwave just can’t do.

Father, if I’m doing this thing of following and worshipping you right, then the thing that I have to accept is that I am not there yet. I know you better and love others better now than I did five years ago. I hope I will know you even better and love others even more five years from now. I am not home yet, but when I am there, “I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me. I can only imagine. Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine. I can only imagine when that day comes, and I find myself standing in the Sun. I can only imagine when all I can do is forever, forever worship you. I can only imagine.”

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen