Do not love the world or the things in the world … the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
Baby Jordan was nine months old from conception, and she was still in the womb. She already recognized her mother’s singing and stroking her through the belly. Sucking her thumb while listening to “mamma’s gonna buy you a mockingbird” was a favorite pastime. Her love for that song would follow her after her birth into the world.
When the water left and Jordan felt cold air spreading over the crown of her head, she clung to the comforts of her known existence. She had to be compelled to enter what others mistakenly call the beginning of life.
I’ve grown to love my world. I’m keenly attached to activities, people, and memories. I know what I like, and I like what I know. I resist the change that death brings. Like Jordan, I’ll have to be compelled to move beyond what I call life.
The difference between pre- and postnatal life is enormous—so much light, color, and reality now, compared to what was in the womb. A much larger expansion will overtake me in heaven.
My ultimate birthday is coming. A failing body and slipping mind mark the onset of labor. When my heart stops, I’ll enter the birth canal, and then life.
Jordan had nothing to fear by entering this world, and I have nothing to fear by leaving it. As she carried her developing traits beyond the womb, so I shall bring everything accomplished in Christ to paradise for larger purposes. There’s much more ahead, more to experience, more to understand, and more work to complete for Christ.
It’s time to prepare for ultimate birth, time to embrace what’s beyond this dark cramped place.
Prayer: Lord, set the desires of my heart on you and your home.