Unmatched Transcendence

"He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent." - Col. 1:18

Think back to the happiest moment of your life: your wedding, your Baptism, graduation, your child's birth. Or, maybe it was something quieter, a simpler moment. What made that moment special? Fulfillment of a dream? A longing made real? A sigh of relief? How much of that moment was made perfect simply because it pointed to the Father?

Now, picture Heaven: an eternity filled with unending praise and glory for the King of the nations.

Several months ago, a mentor told me something that instinctively felt foreign: Betsey, when we die, all of this hurrying around and doing will cease to exist. In its place will be one thing: continually glorifying God. Our idea of life, what we think we need and want, all of this stuff we do....it will be gone. And all that will remain is whether we will forever praise God... or not.

I would like to say that when I heard this simple explanation of Heaven I felt joy and relief. But I didn't; rather, I felt...apprehensive.

Talk about a blow to my self-righteousness. How on earth did I, this incredible Christian, feel such tension at the thought of eternally glorifying the One I claimed to love the most? Because as much as I would love to claim I do everything out of love for God, I would be lying; as much as I try to seek the will of my Father, I daily fall short because of my human nature, something imposed upon me by my ancestors but that which I will be held accountable if I do not allow Him to correct within me.

It isn't about us; it never has been and it never will be. It's about Him: His perfection, His excellence, His unmatched transcendence.

Father, remind me today to glorify you in the little things, the big things, and all the things in between. Correct the places within me that long for greatness out of pride, vanity, and greed; replace them with humility, meekness, and temperance. Then, and only then, will I be made ready to glorify You in eternity forever.