Oct
2
2019
The Elevator Syndrome
Posted in Heaven 2 Comments
I was always fascinated by elevators.
When I was a girl, and my mother took me into the city to shop, an elevator ride was inevitable.
There were no malls; there was no online shopping.
If you ever watched the original, Miracle on 34th Street, you will understand my fascination.
Taking the train into the city and going to the large department store was a treat.
At Christmas time, there was the well loved Dickens Village to visit.
An escalator could be taken, but I always wanted to take the elevator.
There was a man with white gloves who opened and closed the elevator doors for you.
The large elevator door opened.
Inside there was a door with metal bars, which also had to be opened.
The metal door was another layer of security so no one stepped out too soon.
The man in white gloves pushed the buttons after asking what floor we wanted.
I remember thinking that it was strange.
I entered the elevator on one floor and stared at a picture on the wall as the door closed.
When the door opened, I was staring at another picture on another wall.
As a little girl, I remember thinking it was as if I entered another world.
My little granddaughter was here.
Her mommy put her up for a nap in Grandma’s crib.
Her mommy ran out to do a few things.
I knew that I would be the one to get her when she woke up.
Without being able to articulate this at sixteen months, I imagined her reaction.
Her mommy put her to bed.
Her Grandma got her up from her nap.
It was the elevator syndrome all over again.
Go to sleep here.
Wake up there.
How I wish she could tell me what she was thinking.
She was all smiles when I opened the door, then a look of confusion came across her face.
Mama, Mama, she said a few times.
Mommy will be back, sweetheart, I assured her.
Grandma loves you so much, I said as I lifted her to hug her.
Elevator syndrome indeed.
I never mentioned the elevator syndrome to my children when they were little.
I remember one vacation when my oldest son was little, he thought the same thing.
He remarked that it was strange to get on the elevator on here and get off there.
You feel the elevator moving, but you cannot see what is happening in the elevator shaft.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)
One day we will go to sleep here and wake up there.
There is determined by whether or not we have trusted in Jesus alone for our salvation.
There is either heaven or hell.
We will wake up from the sleep of death in one place or the other.
For the believer, absent from the body means present with the Lord.
We wake up from the sleep of death and see His face.
Since we are only tethered to time here on earth, the Lord’s presence is immediate.
When we are here, at home in the body, we are away from the immediate presence of the Lord.
It is the elevator syndrome.
The door closes.
The door opens to either heaven or hell.
Our eternal destination is determined not by our works, but by our faith in Jesus.
We do not know when that door will close for us.
We have time now, as long as it is Today, to come to faith in Jesus.
He is the Way back to the Father.
By faith, it is His face we see when that door opens to our Heavenly Home.
Things to think about! We are so blessed to know what awaits us when we go from this mortal lie to the next–our God is waiting for us! We can only imagine….
Amen, Sue!