Friday, October 8, 2010

"an·tic·i·pa·tion"

–noun
1. the act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.
2. realization in advance; foretaste.
3. expectation or hope.
4. previous notion; slight previous impression.
5. intuition, foreknowledge, or prescience.


I wonder, do I really anticipate the day
I will be swept into glory with my
Savior, my Lord, my King, my God...
my Jesus?

Do I really have #3 above?
expectation or hope?

I do in the sense that my faith in Christ
is full of an obedience to the hope,
anticipation, of such time.

But do I really live my life in such a way?

Christmas.
As a child I anticipated the day, long in
advance of it's arrival. I don't ever
remember thinking, "truly, have I been
good enough for what lies ahead."
Sure, I was conditioned in way to be
good, because "Santa would take me
off the list if I wasn't." A ploy for
sure to coerce the young to behave.
But is there damage in that way of thinking.

I remember a time in an October so
long ago, of the anticipation of a good
hunt with my dad one saturday afternoon.
At the time, my younger sister was
anticipating a party that was to occur
the same evening. We must have
been in our early teens, 'cause we
were expected to act a certain way...
behave... while my parent went out
somewhere that Saturday morning.
My recollection is this: Upon return,
our parents were pretty upset
with what he had done or maybe
hadn't done. I really don't remember.
But I do remember there were consequences.
No hunt for me. No party for her.
I remember think how awful that was.
But for her, not me.
See, I knew that there would be another
day for the hunt. But for my sister,
there wouldn't be another party
quite like the one she anticipated.
Hopes dashed.

My point is this: do I not take time,
from time to time, to anticipate
eternal life with Christ, because
I am programmed to think that something
I do or don't do will derail me from my
undeserved reward. Or do I not take
the time, because I am not sure exactly
when that will be.

Christmas is December 25th... a definite scheduled time.
The hunting day trip, was X day. I knew when it was
and I anticipated it.

My last breath that ushers me into the eternal
is certainly set, but I'm unaware of when exactly
it is. It could be tomorrow, 2013, March 19th 2073?
(3.19.2073 would make me 99 years old...
and another blog for another time).
It could happen as I type this.
I don't know when.
I just know it will.

So, is my anticipation thwarted by the when...
or should my anticipation be propelled foward by the will...
and not my will, but by His will...

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8 NIV

I for one no longer want to live my life
minus the anticipation that Christ bought
for me. Sure, stay focused on doing the
work he has prepared in advance for me,
but never allow the excitement of the
anticpation of Him be lost during most
moments of my life.

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