catapult magazine

Quick waiting

by Ellyn Wilkoff

And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead.
-Nicene Creed

This habitual confession of faith, memorized as a child, provides a platform for pondering the meaning of “Charged Up.”  A childhood false belief formed around this confession.  To my simplistic way of thinking, the “quick” were the ones who hopped into heaven at the last minute.  In essence they were “charged up” in the “twinkling of an eye” as 1 Corinthians 15:52 recounts.

Does this eternal translation shed light on the personal passions we have acquired in this life?  I would hope that it provides a steadfast fervor which serves as our undercurrent.  I believe that God has charged us with His love and enabled us to labor at our passion(s), God-fortified.

When I get weary, I labor as one who has no hope.  My dreams for my passions have superseded my true eternal hope. True hope subsumes dreams and produces eternal comfort, not disappointment. Often this hope grows from a spark, whose flame I have to fan diligently.  Often the energy expended in diligence comes from waiting in hope, not running on adrenaline.  All our passions and desires are zeroed out “at the last Trumpet”, save one.  If I fix my eyes on that most important One, all my passions will be ruled by this mighty magnificent perspective.

May God bless and direct all your passions, “while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).