J. Grant Swank, Jr.
The
good God said one day, "I want to give my children a very special
gift. It will help them, refresh them, make them happy, lift their
burdens and give them a new turn on life."
So the good God set about to craft it. He was thinking of His children's good. He always is.
Even
when the good God set before His children a commandment or two, it was
always for their good. They did not always get that message.
Nevertheless, when they did get that truth, they were set free.
So it was with this very special gift from the good God.
"I
want them to put down their weights. I want them to unwind. I want
them to go run in the meadows, jump across streams, forget their toil.
I want them to be holy, yes, but I want them to understand more than
anything else how such holiness unfolds happiness."
This
good God timed His gift so that it would keep returning over and over
again, never stopping, as long as earth spun upon its axis. How good
of the good God! How pouring-out in His fatherly love for The Precious.
"This gift will long be remembered. Oh, how it makes my own heart glad to offer this present to my redeemed ones.
"Those
who have rejected me cannot understand the worth of this gift. But
surely my own dear ones will treasure it, hold it delicately and never
neglect it. Oh, how it makes my own heart glad!"
How grateful would be the children of the good God. They had such an insightful Parent--looking out for their every benefit.
"I
want even their children to inherit this gift. I want all generations
to revel in its joy and gladness. How I want the whole world to
receive this present. But I know that the whole world will not take to
its value.
"Therefore,
I must count on my children. I simply must. They surely will hold this
jewel to their hearts. Yes, they will will it to THEIR offspring. And
so its meaning will bead itself down through centuries of laughter and
thanksgiving."
With this, the good God planned it. Is it
not always more blessed to give than to receive? So it is with the One
who wrote that postulate into being's fabric. HE was almost beside
Himself with such holy hilarity.
Recall how you, parents,
prepare those dazzling prizes for your own children? You ponder. You
purchase. You wrap. You tie the bows. Then you can hardly wait for
The Moment!
So it was with the good God.
"This
will calm their nerves in rest. My gift will bind their wounds. This
present will return them to my love, to worship me fully, to adore my
holiness, to share my gift with other redeemed sons and daughters.
This gift will draw their families closer. This gift will show to the
world that these offspring are different because of their beauty."
The
good God, being Creator of His children, knew truly what they needed to
make it through each rough-and-tumble week. He knew that they would
need to drop everything--hear His music, paint the sky, romp the fields
and take in lazy hills. How they would need it!
With that
gift, they would enter the very holy of holies, lay their eyes upon His
mercy seat, cleanse their souls afresh in shekinah glory, marvel at the
cherubim's wings. They would light their lives from golden lampstands,
nourish at the shewbread table and mix their thanksgivings with incense
from His sanctified altar.
So it was that His smile filled up the all of heaven. Then it was that that
smile dipped down to planet earth as the good God lifted high His holy gift for every angel to see!
Think
of it: to be the child of such a benevolent Father! So sad for those
who cared not for the Father, those twisted in their trenches,
vagabonds of their own shriveled spheres, crippling through.
Yet to be the graced child of such a sensitive One! What utter security when leaning upon His sure shoulder.
This
Father actually meant for His birthed to pace life in peace. Knowing
that His planet had fallen into unbelievable tension, the good God
gifted His children with His own unique respite from staccatoed stress.
That very special--holy--gift!
Ah,
now was The Moment. Offer it, then, good God. Your offspring of mercy
are waiting anxiously. They will surely take hold of it in cascading
praise--forever!
As eternity held its breath and
nary an angel whispered a sigh, into the hands of His own He gently laid that shining treasure--His Day of Rest.