The Longing of the Heart

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.

Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.

Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

~ Psalm 63:1-8 ~

Through the Looking Glass

Press me close to the glass of heaven.
     May I peer through prisms of crystalline purity
to see your unfettered glory in fearful majesty
   eclipsing every childish cardboard box of religious gaming.
Cause me to see.
To understand Who you are,
To finally perceive with vision and understanding to know why.

Why this day of all days.
The reason. 
The joy. 

As I gaze -- I am struck by the wonder, the stunning
  panoply of heaven:


Angels bow before Your wondrous grace in adoration;
   No breathing being on their feet -- face flattened upon the
      floors of heaven's halls;
  No arrogant pride there dare rise;
  No fanciful inattentive flippancy.

Only attentive beings full of thankfulness
    at the Royalty of heaven. 
Majesty unfurled in expansive, unending skies.
  All bowing in worship at the feet of the One
    whose awesome Presence sought the one thing
    that was the target of His love,
A price for which  He would pay anything to obtain:
  My heart.





Then I saw it.  The immense price tag. 
   The cancelled receipt. 
   The final stamp of approval of purchase.


   He saw the price for me.
       and with joy paid it ...
   And made me His very own.

A love story without parallel,
    without description.
Through the ages many have tried to retell the story.
It may be unfathomable.
  May even be unimaginable or uncomfortable for some,
      But entirely and irrevocably true.

All great and powerful!
    The Mighty God -- He rose for us all!  What a price.  What a love.  What a Savior!

Once I was blind; now I see.  His looking glass revealed the joy of heaven
 His magnificent love for us all through the gift paid by the Father's Son
  illuminated on an early Sunday morning from an empty tomb.


His name .... is Jesus. 

Alleluia.