This is what it looks like when Heaven comes down~

This Sunday,
a young man was baptized in our church baptismal.
He accepted Christ as His Savior
just a few weeks ago.
Three young women-perhaps his sisters or friends-
came down by the altar
and knelt there with cameras in their hands
to take pictures of this blessed event.
They were not dressed like "church people"
and the one's clothing did not cover her
as well as her body art did.

Tattoos were being read,
camera flashes were going off,
words were being spoken,
"Upon the confession of your faith...",
heads were going under,
hands were being clapped,
and I thought,
"THIS is what it looks like
when Heaven comes down."

Sometimes,
with John the Baptist,
we cry out from the prison of our hearts,
"Are you really who You say you are
or should we look for another?"

And He answers and says,
"The blind see and the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up
and the poor have the gospel
preached to them.
And blessed is he who is not offended in Me."

I think it is interesting that He didn't say to John,
"I told you that I am the truth; just believe."
No, He reminded John of the results
of Who He Was.
The lame walk...
The deaf hear...
The poor have the gospel preached to them...

Sometimes we lose sight of Him
when we are in prison.
Sometimes we lose sight of His Love
when we are invisible and locked away
and others are being healed,
and cleansed and raised up.

But blessed are we
if we are not offended in Him
as He does His work without us
and shows His favor to others.

Blessed are we if we can believe in Him
when we are looking through prison bars
or body art or exhaustion or financial
distress or any other obstacle that comes our way
to tempt us to be offended in Him.

Because He is at work
with or without us
and He assures us that He is who He says He is
by the things that He does
and by the precious people we see kneeling around the altar
taking pictures of their friend in the water.