Funny that the title to this entry is the day that I will leave Berlin for a while...and not necessarily in my choosing or my time table, but certainly one that God has planned.When I think about Christ's account on the cross, how He died on Friday and arose on Sunday, bringing me life both eternal and now, I never once think about Saturday. George Steiner said, "But ours is the long day's journey of the Saturday."
"Long day's journey"...How many times in my life do I feel like I am trapped or stuck, waiting in Saturday for Sunday to come, when I can rest in Saturday because the victory already came on Friday? I can stand, waiting expectantly in hope, for Sunday, enjoying the "now" and "here," being "nowhere" but here. Because I know that Sunday will come...it has before and still will.
Even more, how hard is it to have joy in the now and here? This requires so much, living in a world where I cannot control anything yet want to try and control everything. This kind of joy is not of this world because it is only a gift that comes in Christ.
Joy is about "what is" while fear is about "what if." And just as much as Joy is about the known and fear is about the unknown, fear is also about what has not come and Joy is about what has come...Jesus. "What is" the truth of what is known in Christ? He has come, is coming, and will continue to come...which means fear must leave. Joy has come, is here and now, the ongoing Presence of Him. Fear and joy cannot co-exist, and this is freedom to trust in both the known and unknown.
Joy is freely living in the here and now, on Saturday, knowing without question that God is present...joy enables me to trust my Father as I live in Today.
