Someone to Meet You

And on that day He'll bring you back, a great reunion - God's promise.

Zephaniah 3:20 The Message

There is something about arrivals at airports, the anxieties and expectations. There is getting through the crowds, the immigration stamps, the lines and of course the “luggage”. Full flights mean frenetic collections of claimed and unclaimed goods, the push with four-wheeled unstable cars, and vying for an optimum position to retrieve personal property. Then come the prayers. “Will all the bags arrive? Will they be intact? Did the zippers hold up when pushed to their maximum sumo-pressing of packed parcels?” I don’t have a very good testimony while I wait eyeballing the encroaching passengers into MY cordoned off territory. “Excuse YOU!” I remark. Not exactly what Jesus would do. But then again … I’m not Jesus yet (or at least not in baggage claim)

As I pushed my 200 lbs of luggage through the customs and crowds awaiting arriving passengers – my eyes looked high knowing with A’s 6’3” frame and blonde hair he would stand above the rest. Soon I heard the familiar “Car” – and here he came to help maneuver the cart the rest of the way through the crowd.

I think there is something a bit heavenly to the scene. Death holds so many unknowns. Will our arrival have us claiming our eternal treasures on a revolving wheel without the frustration or anxiety? Will we be making our way through “so great a cloud of witnesses? Scanning eyes for those assembled familiar faces who have gone before?

And who will be the one to raise their hand in greeting, flag us down, call out our name and say “Welcome home – we’ve been waiting for you?”