There was one Friday night I spent in the Big Apple. It’s seemingly insignificant, but has transformed the way I worship.
I grew up in a traditional church with pews and hymnals. Look, I love a good rendition of “Blessed Assurance,” but quite frankly, the same hymns over-and-over again didn’t peak my spiritual interests. My goal growing up was twofold - to be able to turn right to the correct page number in the hymnal by just opening it and to be able to balance the hymnal on the back of the pew in front of me. I masterfully succeeded in both most Sunday mornings.
But back to that night in New York….On Friday nights, I would go to the second or third floor of this building for a worship night. For the girl whose altar was lit by the stained glass, the lights and drums were quite the change. I knew most of the songs, so I would sing along. But the overstimulation didn’t let me get really into it. I would look around the room and sing. I should mention it was a Korean church group. So since I didn’t have a hymnal to play my normal games, I played “Am I the only white person here?”
Again, my “worship” was this unfocused singing and this desire for distraction.
There was this song that the band played most weeks during a time of reflection after the message. And it kept playing over and over in my heart. It was a song I knew from middle school, so I thought it was just this reinvigoration of a good song in my head’s playlist.
But on that one seemingly insignificant night, instead of playing “Am I the only white person here?” during the song, I decided to (gasp) close my eyes. I didn’t raise my hands or sway or anything “too crazy.” And when I closed, the lyrics just flooded my heart....
Everlasting
Your Light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your Glory goes beyond all fame
[From the Inside Out, Hillsong UNITED]
I learned over time the worship with a little more freedom and a little more surrender. Look I’m not jumping up and down or dancing - that’s not me. But I think the first time I actually lifted my hands in worship was during this song. But that’s not where this is going today…
The words that got me in this song were “everlasting” and “never ending.”
The concept of eternity is mind-boggling. Every time I try to even think about it, my mind just spins and spins and I just can’t grasp it. And the reason why is that it just doesn’t stop - it’s everlasting and never ending.
I think why we can’t grasp it is because we live in a temporary world. I mean Jesus says it Himself:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
--Matthew 6:19-21
And then Paul echos him several times saying:
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
--2 Peter 3:11
For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
--2 Corinthians 4:17
We live in this temporary world and we are told to live temporary lives (while being Kingdom minded). So it’s understandable that we don’t quite understand the concept of “everlasting” and “never ending.”
I feel some days work or laundry are never ending, but the truth is it all ends. I fold the last piece of clothing (and then realize I’m in clothing that will then be dirty) and there is this sense of ending.
Isaiah is prophesying to the Jewish people. Think about their history for a moment - they were slaves in Egypt and they escaped slavery only to be stranded in the desert for 40 years. BUT - they were faithful to God (not without a ton of complaining, but faithful nonetheless).
They, too, lived in temporary situations. I’m sure over the years of slavery - through the blood, sweat, and tears - God reminded His people repeatedly that this was temporary. I know as they wandered the desert for 40 years, God reminded them of their future glory and that this desert is only temporary.
So when Isaiah says to them that this child will be the “everlasting Father,” their minds were spinning just as much.
But through the spiral of misconception, for me there is this relief. There is, first, a relief that the things in this life are temporary. But there is, secondly, this relief that the Good Thing (the Best Thing) is never ending.
So though this child Isaiah prophesied about lived a temporary earthly life, His role as our Father (our Guide and Protector) is never ending.
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