a few more years shall roll

i’m not sure what caused it, whether it was the somewhat frustrating and hectic preparations for our church missions luncheon this sunday for my team or listening to the sounds from caedmon’s call’s new album Share the Well, but i have been reminded of my trip to Nepal back in 1999 and decided to scan in some of the old photos from my scrapbook.

In the song Sarala, there’s a verse that reminded so clearly of my time in Nepal:
Ricksha walla begs the question
Are all these red lights just suggestions
Oh, it’s gonna be OK
They know dead men can’t pay, Sarala

riding in tiny taxis through the streets of kathmandu was one of the more frightening, yet somehow exhilerating experiences of the trip. the sensory overload of a foreign culture always excites me. i remember this brightly colored, wonderful smelling market:

and, in the village we visited, the after church fellowship meal for which preparations began in the morning with the slaughter and butchering of a goat.

In my wednesday morning prayer and theology group, we’ve been discussing the deity of Christ the past few weeks. This morning, while touching on the mystery of the incarnation, my pastor made a comment about the continual unfolding of the mystery of God even in heaven that got me thinking.

So often, people talk about getting to heaven and asking God all their questions, finally knowing all the answers, or seeing the big picture. (See Chris Rice’s “Questions for Heaven”)

But part of the wonder of heaven is that God will still be God. And although we will be perfected, we will not become God. I do think we’ll see more clearly and understand things we never thought we would, but understanding all the mysteries of God? That seems impossible. Maybe we’ll know all we need to know at each given moment (if time exists in heaven), but God will continue to reveal Himself to us over eternity. Since He himself is eternal, it will take that long.