In the late 1980s, my wife and I spent a few days in Honolulu on Waikiki Beach. While we were enjoying the surf and the sand, a man with a camera and a large parrot came up and said, “Let me take a picture of you that will make all your friends back home jealous.” He showed us some samples of other photos he had taken that he had turned into postcards. One of the samples was a photo of actor Tom Selleck with that same parrot on his shoulder. We took him up on his offer and bought a few postcards to send back home.
Even though it was a good picture of my wife, the parrot, and myself, the postcard didn’t give our friends a complete picture of what Hawaii was really like. We could point out Diamond Head in the background and explain where our hotel was in relation to the photo, but the photo didn’t capture the warmth, the beauty or the “hang loose” attitude that we found there. When we read the Bible, it’s like looking at a postcard from God. We are given a glimpse of his power and majesty, but we cannot see the complete picture until we see him face to face. Likewise, we can only grasp a fraction of his love for us now. But one day we shall see him in all his glory and we will respond by joining the angels in their never-ending chorus of “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.” That’s when we will realize fully that God is bigger and better than we have ever imagined. At that moment, every doubt or fear we ever experienced will disappear in the light of his glory and grace. For now we try to see as much as we can through our postcard-view in the confident hope that we will one day be in the very presence of God where nothing will be hidden. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2016
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