I had just returned from our Spring
Break service trip when I fired up my computer. I had been mostly
offline, save for a few e-mails and seminary things, and now I was
returning to the world. And when I chose to peruse YouTube for a
minute just to relax; I saw it. The video I had been waiting for.
The new Avengers: Infinity War trailer had dropped. And I lost the
next half hour to it.
I spent the next few days watching
response videos, combing the interwebs for easter eggs, trying to
find any juicy details that had not yet been discovered. As a
superhero movie fan, and an even bigger fan of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, I was hooked.
What came next was an odd thought: what
if I die before it comes out? Or what if, for some reason, I don't
get to see it? And then, came a prayer: “Lord, please let me see
Infinity War before I die.”
Now, to be clear, I didn't verbalize
this; I thought it. To the Lord. And then, I disregarded it for a
while. But as we've been studying Exodus for a conference in May, I
realized something about my prayer. I often live in two categories.
Have a comfortable life, or an uncomfortable life. But there's a
third life. A free life. One where I live in light of the fact that
the shackles of death have been broken.
In Exodus 12, we see that God has
conquered Pharaoh. He has plundered the Egyptians. And he has set
the Israelites free. But there's one catch: they must leave in
haste. No waiting. Just go. You're free to go and sacrifice to the
Lord. Now go.
Of course, they go, only to encounter
Pharaoh one last time, and again, God brings them to freedom. But
how does that apply to us? We aren't enslaved to Pharaoh or Egypt.
Is there anything we are enslaved to?
The answer should be simple: sin and
death. Let's focus on the latter part of this, death.
Now, this doesn't just mean death in the sense of when we die. It
means we live in a fallen world. We live where all good things of
God's creation have
been corrupted. Suffering, oppression, racism, sickness, evil, it
all exists here. And Heaven
is where none of that will exist. In fact, in Revelation, God
promises that He will wipe away every tear. So... wouldn't Heaven,
where perfection will reign and we'll be face to face with the God
who loves us, be better than anything this world has to offer?
Now...that's
not to say Infinity War shouldn't be watched – I'll be honest, Lord
willing,
I'm going to see that movie at least twice in theaters. It's the
movie event of my lifetime. And I'll enjoy it thoroughly... unless
the Russo brothers, the film's directors, completely botch it. (I
highly doubt it) But, if I never get to see it, will I ultimately
miss out? If it's a choice between Infinity War, and Heaven,
wouldn't the answer be obvious?
The
point isn't that I necessarily have to choose between the two.
Rather, the prayer reveals the heart. Most days, I don't think I
value the promise of a life spent with Jesus face to face, without
suffering, with eternal joy, more than other things. It shows in how
often I make the choice to not share my faith, to not pray and spend
time with God, and pray prayers like, “please don't take me
before...” That's not to say we can't be excited for the events in
our lives. Movies are fun. Sporting events are a blast. And
beautiful things, like marriage, and the birth of a child, or a
monumental birthday, are all great things that God lets us enjoy.
Let
us cultivate a heart that longs even more for the great pleasures
that are before God Almighty.
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