Gloria

Little children gather around me to see the story of Eden. The bright colors of “flannel graph” pictures capture their attention. We talk of the days of glory– the days of creation, each pronounced “good” by the Omniscient Creator, and how fresh the morning air must have seemed as Adam and Eve walked with their God in the early light of day.

All was sinless perfection–till the Hater of God slithered his way into the very heart of all that was good, and began the decay, this rotting away of all that was created and called “good.”

We suffer still today. We suffer under the curse of corruption and our souls cry out “Abba……Father……Where are you?”

We weep. We wail. We groan.

Some days, here on our farm, the flannel becomes graphic. It leaps from the 2×3 board in my Sunday School classroom and becomes my real life.

Last Saturday, our beautiful brown Saddlebred horse groaned under the curse of corruption. His liquid brown eyes told of an anxious suffering–a terrible corruption deep within his huge body, and as he paced, he began to stumble under the weight of the curse.

We consulted our vet who gently said, “I’m so sorry. There is no hope.”

Suddenly the rot ruptured a major vessel in his system and he hemorrhaged. Weakening fast, he went down hard on the soft white snow, breath coming fast and labored. And we could only watch, stroking his beautiful face as he writhed in agony–blood drops spattering and staining white perfection.

We wept. We wailed. We waited in the cold morning light as a trigger was pulled and a shot rang out. The suffering ended for for our beloved creature, but the suffering continued in our hearts as we cried out, “God—Where are you?”

“Save us from the corruption that crept into perfection, and eats away at our hearts, separates us from You and destroys all that is good.”

“Come– oh come, Emmanuel.”

We groan with all of creation that suffers under the weight of the curse.

I am comforted with Paul’s words to the weary world in Roman’s chapter 8: “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved…” (NAS. Romans 8:22-24b)

We wait with hope, knowing that Abba Father has already taken the first step of rescuing us from sin and death. His very name, Emmanuel means “God with us.” By sending His son to be with us, here on planet earth and to be sacrificed to pay the penalty that sin demands, God in His perfect design redeems us from the curse.

Blood was spattered to make us white.

Redemption starts now as death works backwards bringing life, and our good Father restores what satan can not steal. And one day, all of creation will lift up its head and sing “Gloria.”

“The witch would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”—C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Embracing my new role in life, that of being “Gramma,” I decided to convert a cozy space in our basement into a playroom for my grandchildren. Digging out our old Playmobil sets, little Jack and I spent time reconstructing castles, matching horses with riders, and arming all with swords, double-bladed axes, and magnificent shields. We found old cannons and cannon balls, and figured out how on earth all the triggers and trip switches worked. Soon we had created a veritable kingdom of imagination that took us back to medieval times.

Jack, being only 2 years old, impressed his Gramma with his incredible attention to detail as he carefully lined his men up atop the highest sail of our invading ship. (How they can ever steer the ship from that position, I will never know.) However, on a more serious note, some evil men who had been transported on the ship, had managed to escape. They had taken over the island where the lighthouse stood; when we halted our play for lunchtime, the marauding band was last seen storming the beacon of light.

Next on the scene was pint-sized, 2 year old Wren. She is a powerhouse of emotions and thoughts packed into a very small body. You can almost literally see her brain working as she processes information, but she has few words to attach to her strong feelings. Her vocabulary mainly consists of, “Daddy!” “Oh! My!” ” No!” “Oh! No!” and “Lo Lo,” (her term of endearment for her Uncle Logan) Rare occasions warrant the term, “Yucky!” When she stood in the doorway of our new medieval play area, her eyes went directly to the dire situation on the lighthouse and she cried out with indignance, “YUCKY!”

Quickly assessing the situation, she fearlessly grabbed each villain by its helmeted head, studied its wicked face, and cast each little plastic body into the sea. With each toss, she emphatically declared it was indeed, “Yucky!” Hopefully, their wicked weaponry they wielded drug them to their deaths in bottom of the sea, never again to be seen overtaking the light.

Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians reminds them to take a similar course of action. “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (ESV, 2 Cor. 7:1)

Unknowingly, little Wren’s very decisive actions and one word sermon made an impact on her Gramma. Why would I allow anything “Yucky!” to remain in my life? As we had seen on our Playmobil Island, the yucky men had taken over, and the lighthouse was no longer in operation. Ships could be lost at sea with no lighthouse to guide them safely home!

Thank Heaven we are never alone in our struggle to rid ourselves from sin. Paul tenderly reminds the Corinthian Christians of some promises. The promises to which Paul is referring are nothing less than God’s indwelling and fatherly love. Earlier in his letter, Paul declares:

¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
¹⁸ and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.” (ESV,, 2 Cor. 16-18)

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the life lessons you bring to my mind as I play with my children’s children. Please “cast out my sin, and enter in. Be born in [me] today.” (Brooks)

Brooks, Phillips. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.