Here Comes the Sun

I'm not great with numbers but I think we now have had 33 days in a row without sun. Best not to quote me on that.  Or this.... I think it has rained 22 days and snowed a few more during the last three weeks.  I'm not saying it has been wet and sloppy but Hill Regional Hospital reports from their maternity ward that three boys and one girl were named "Noah" during the past two weeks.

The average temperature for the last ten days of February was 33 in DFW, but I'm not complaining. One reason I'm not complaining is I've seen pictures from Boston. What have I to gripe about? Another reason I'm not complaining is that another report has me almost giddy this morning. Yes, it is raining as I type this. Yes, a cold front in bearing down on us and it will probably be bringing sleet tonight and 27 degrees in the morning. Yet, I am excited. I am so anticipating tomorrow.

Am I leaving for Florida to play golf and bask in the sun? No. Did I win a cruise to the Caribbean to enjoy 80 degrees on the islands? Naw. Are the grandkids coming? I wish. If that were the case I wouldn't even be here in the office. But I am truly looking forward to tomorrow, especially the afternoon, even though the high will only be about forty degrees with a cold wind.

What could possibly cause a guy stuck inside from cold, damp, rain, snow, and sleet facing another day of even colder, damper, sleetier, and ice-ier weather to be looking forward to tomorrow with joyful anticipation?  Well, I know what's coming. The sun'll come out tomorrow! The local weather wizards Fenfrock, Delkus, and Mowry all agree: here comes the sun. And I say its all right. Yes, tomorrow will be a cold, blustery day but with some afternoon sun. Life is good.

I am so looking forward to seeing the sun. It made me think of the Apostle Paul writing the church at Philippi. His letter is called the epistle of joy. Paul is in prison, most probably Rome. His circumstances are obviously less than ideal and yet he writes with such joy and hope. He does this not because of his circumstances but in spite of them. He is looking forward to what he knows is coming and what is coming is a cause for full joy. Look at his words from prison:
           Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.....Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.     Philippians 1

Paul writes with joy because he is going to see the Son. If he lives, he expects to see Jesus born into the lives of repentant sinners. Paul expects to see the Son grow in the lives of new believers seeking to be more Christ-like in the faith. He expects to see the Son of God in the compassion and service His church renders in His name. If this imprisonment ends in death, Paul expects to see the Son in all His glory, up close and personal. Despite horrible circumstances, Paul can't lose, he is going to see the Son, to live is Christ to die is gain.

I will be happy tomorrow when I see our solar system really does have a star. I will see the brightness of our sun in the cold days of early March and anticipate its warmth as spring approaches. It will be a real feeling but one that fleetingly will give way to the desire for a cold, rainy day by July. My spiritual desire must be, in all seasons of life, that God will grow me and all of His children in the faith to where we are even more excited every day and each tomorrow to see the true center of the universe, the Son. That is our hope, that is our joy, that is our life, that the Son will come out today, tomorrow and  for all eternity.
In the words of George Harrison McConaughey, "Here comes the Son...
And it's all right, all right, all right.

Cos