But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. Philippians 3:20
The little chapel sits just off the road on Highway 62 in Trinity. We’ve been living in Thomasville for 20 years and travelled that road a zillion times. My bride maintains she’s never seen it before, but that chapel is older than we are.
It got me to thinking about two stories. The first has no author, but many writers. The second has an author, but no other writer.
The first story appears in many movies of the darker, mysterious sort, where a distraught and somewhat rumpled older woman is sitting at a bar, decked-out in her fanciest evening gown, which is somewhat tattered. Her hair is straggly, and she is covered with her entire jewelry box contents, mostly costume gaudy stuff. She is quite drunk and crying. She is also always willing to spin her tale of woe to anyone willing to listen. She is waiting for her prince who will come and marry her. He is tall and handsome, a dream of man. She has been waiting forty years; he never shows up. It’s a sad story, and the writers never have to finish it. We know how that ends…sad, alone, broken.
The other story is of another fiancé waiting. Her prince isn’t the Hollywood type. In fact, the last time she saw him he was so
disfigured she could hardly believe it was her man. He’d been beaten with fists until his face
was so bloodied and swollen, crowned with a thorned wreath, scourged with a cat-o’-nine-tails,
and finally nailed to crossbeams between two thieves on the town garbage
dump.
This was her bridegroom!
To those uninitiated to the backstory, it seems a little like the two stories
have the same ending – disappointed bride, broken and lost. To those more familiar with the historically
accurate story with no earthly author, this isn’t a story; it’s a promise,
written in blood. This bride will not be
disappointed. The only ones disappointed
will be those who do not prepare for the coming of the Lord, the churches’
bridegroom.
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. Matthew 25:1-13
For You Today
That little
chapel on Highway 62 is a picture of the waiting. It’s a quaint and quiet setting with nothing
special happening there. Except that
there is a notebook which many visitors have signed, leaving behind thanks for
the quiet assurance of a chapel in the middle of nowhere. Some leave a prayer request for help and
healing. To spend a few moments there,
reading the hearts of travelers’ longings, is like listening-in on the
whispered prayers at altars, it’s holy.
In the quieted hush of that log chapel, broken occasionally by a passing
car or truck, there is an anxiousness to the waiting, but nonetheless a peace
in the middle of anxious days. It is
patience.
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
Title image, Pixabay.com W Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on Philippians 3:20 see: Citizens of Heaven and
The Pattern of a Life
[1] Matthew 24:30 …And they
will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.
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