If you know me well, you probably know that my life has been a unique combination of thoroughly ordinary and decidedly bizarre. On the ordinary side, I live a modestly comfortable life with my dog in our suburban home. I have a regular job with set hours and spend a lot of my spare time with family or working on projects around the house. Sounds pretty normal, right?
Now let’s talk about the bizarre. I am a medical anomaly with “magical kneecaps of inconvenience” (I pass out if I hit my knee just right). I’ve had Chicken Pox three times, and in high school I was one of six people with a rare combination of blood disorders that essentially, and thankfully, canceled each other out.
I’ve gone paragliding in Europe, killed a snake with my bare hands, and traveled across the Atlantic by ship. I’ve learned the hard way about the sketchy nightlife in Rome and stuck my head in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia-inspiring wardrobe (I did not find that magical land, in case you’re wondering). I’ve chewed bubble gum I picked up off the ground inside a lion’s cage, and just can’t seem to stay out of school.
But the craziest thing that has ever happened to me, by far, is that God saved me. The almighty, glorious, majestic King of the universe looked at the pitiful mess that was me and said, “I love you. You are mine.”
It makes ZERO sense from a logical perspective. My heart is deceitful and full of sin, completely deserving of eternal separation from His holy perfection. But He said, “Nope, I’m not giving you what you deserve. I’m giving you mercy.” Try as I might, I could never be good enough to reach His standard of perfection, so He reached down and offered grace. Costly grace.
As Jesus set aside the beauty of heaven to enter our chaos, He brought hope, peace, joy, comfort and conviction to humanity. His humility, laying down His life for our sins, and His glory, rising again in the ultimate victory over death, paved the way for those of us who will follow Him. Salvation is miraculous and wondrous, simple and yet deeply robust.
I know people mean well, but I always cringe on the inside anytime someone says “Heaven gained an angel” when a saint passes on to glory. No, friend. Angels are remarkable creatures and are used by God in incredible ways, but it is entirely different to have experienced the Gospel on a personal level.
In 1 Peter 1, the apostle and close friend of Christ, speaks eloquently about the prophecies Jesus fulfilled, His sufferings, the Gospel, the work of the Spirt, and how each of these comes together in our salvation. Then he adds this mind-blowing comment, “Even angels long to look into these things.”
The angels long for that which we’ve been freely given. May we never lose the wonder of it all. The longing of angels fulfilled in our lives is anything but mundane.
Photo credit: Gavin Allanwood on Unsplash
