When the Angels Dance

Tonight I had the privilege of watching The Thorn for the third time. For those of you who have not had the privilege, it is an amazing theatrical production of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. The cast is in the hundreds, the audience in the thousands. I think that every year I see it, the more I enjoy it. The reason I enjoy it so much is because it portrays the story of Jesus in a different way than I normally think about it. I believe it shows the humanity of Jesus exceedingly well. It also excels at showing the spiritual battle between darkness and light in a dramatic way. I need to be jolted out of my usual rut every now and then so that the familiar does not become common; The Thorn does this. However, my favorite part of the production, the part that I was looking forward to in eager anticipation is at the very beginning. It is the scene in heaven when the angels dance.

Imagine a stage where there are dozens of white creatures in flowing, shimmering outfits. Some are dancing, others are doing aerial gymnastics, some are swinging from ribbons suspended above the stage. Spinning, leaping, twirling, flipping. Always movement, beautiful movement. Creatures who are not marred by sin and pain expressing glory and praise to their Creator. This is why I love this scene. I want to be with them. I long to be with them. To be with them in a place where there is no more pain, nor death, nor tears. To worship my Creator and my Savior without the constraints of this world holding me back.

Did you know that this is why I love worship so much? When I worship God with my whole heart, I can, for the moment, forget about this world and for that brief moment get a very small taste of what heaven will be like. Oh, how I long for heaven. I remember at one service starting to weep because I wanted it so much. I was not content with what I had. I wanted it all right then. I wanted to see Jesus, to touch Jesus. But it was not to be. How long, O Lord, must we endure?

This life is hard. It always will be. Even on the best days there is sin and pain lingering in the background. I don't want to sound depressing, but this is the truth. If it was not like this, than heaven would be cheapened. In fact, we wouldn't even want heaven if there was no sin. We would just live in paradise here on earth. But that's obviously not the case. This is why heaven is the prize for those who run the race of faith and endure until the end. We cannot even imagine the joy heaven will be like because we have nothing to compare it to. It's like comparing a ten course meal to a crumb. But oh, it will be glorious. And the best part is that we will get to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.

Long for heaven, Beloved. If you don't, than figure out why not. This world has nothing for you. The best is yet to come. Go and be blessed.