DEC. 30, 2013
Mixed
Emotions
Read: Revelation
21:1-7
Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be
grief. —Proverbs
14:13
For
Marlene and me, “mixed emotions” precisely describes our wedding. Don’t take
that the wrong way. It was a wonderful event that we continue to celebrate more
than 35 years later. The wedding celebration, however, was dampened because
Marlene’s mom died of cancer just weeks before. Marlene’s aunt was a wonderful
stand-in as the “mother of the bride,” but, in the midst of our happiness,
something clearly wasn’t right. Mom was missing, and that affected everything.
That
experience typifies life in a broken world. Our experiences here are a mixed
bag of good and bad, joy and pain—a reality that Solomon expressed when he
wrote, “Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be
grief” (Prov. 14:13). The merry heart often does grieve, for that is what this
life sometimes demands.
Thankfully,
however, this life is not all there is. And in the life that is to come, those
who know Christ have a promise: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). In that great day,
there will be no mixed emotions—only hearts filled with the presence of God!
Peace! peace! wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above,
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love. —Cornell
For the Christian, the dark sorrows of earth will one day be
changed into the bright songs of heaven.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
