Lenten Devotional (33) & The Seven Deadly Sins

When Heaven Breaks Through

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy.” (Ps. 5:11)

Every time heaven breaks through our daily life, it is a reason to rejoice. It breaks through with tremendous regularity in significant events, like the birth of a child, the provision of our financial needs, recovering through a deathly illness, or whatever it may be, we see heaven given to us regularly.

But heaven also breaks through in many little things, like the response of a child to the wisdom of God, the comfort of a sunny day, the note, or a word of encouragement. Are we responding to that joy when heaven breaks through?

It is common for people to talk to one another to report the sad details of other people’s lives; it is not so common to rejoice in the details of other people’s lives. We need more of that. We need to be genuinely joyful over the joy of others. As Augustine observed: “The good that we desire for ourselves, we desire for our neighbor also.” Instead of lamenting the joy of others, let us rejoice in their well-being. Our lack of joy may stem from our lack of joy for other people’s joy.

Prayer: O, Lord, be gracious to us and show us the joy of rejoicing with others. Take away our anger and jealousy and make us happy to see the godly prosperity of our neighbor through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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Notations:

*Athanasius: “Even on the cross He did not hide Himself from sight; rather, He made all creation witness to the presence of its Maker.”

**All of Holy Week is a tribute to creation and the restoration of creation. Jesus enters surrounded by trees and branches and dies on a tree crowned by a twisted branch/thorns.

***Our publication of The Seven Deadly Sins is looking great, with a few endorsements by Rev. Douglas Wilson, Rev. Mickey Schneider, Rev. George Grant, and others. Here is a sample of chapter 1: