Paradise--A Painful Memory

Our world is broken. Things are not as they are supposed to be. We can sense that all is not quite right even on our best days. We sense that we have fallen short of something so glorious we only speak of it as if it were a land of make-believe. It would be too painful a thing to admit that Paradise Lost was actually a real event which took place in a real location we could have all boarded a plane and traveled to if such technology had existed. 

For some, it may be easier to delude ourselves that our own private hells are really not so bad. But at some point all of us suffer the crushing reality of our loss as it comes crashing in through the merciless pain of our lives in the form of death, loss and tragedy. It would seem God's original plans have been thwarted. That we lost. That God lost.

That's where I have been stuck for years--perpetual tragedy.

That's not the end of the story.

I'm realizing afresh: Though it may seem God's plans have been thwarted, like a judo master God is able to turn evil on its head. His magnificent goodness, resourcefulness, power, love and wisdom transforms the greatest tragedies in our lives to bring about His plans, healing and redemption in our broken world. He never wastes a hurt and He transforms the ashes of our tragedies into gloriously epic tales of triumph for those who do not lose hope in Him and even for others who for a season do.

Jesus was the prototype for this hell-shattering reality in action. Death brought life. Punishment brought acquittal. Pain brought healing. He did it once and He wants to do it again in each of our lives. If we'll trust Him. But will Jesus find faith on the earth and in me when He comes?