Upsides

"This is Berk.  It snows nine months out of the year and hails the other three.  Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless.  The people even more so.  The only upsides are the pets.  Other places have ponies and parrots... we have dragons."

This struck me as we were watching "How to Train Your Dragon" with the kids recently.  Think about that statement again.  Yucky, COLD weather all year, unappetizing food, and rough-around-the-edges people.  I mean, what else is there?!?  Ahhh-- but the pets! =)  I mean, who's not fascinated with dragons?  Well, you may not be.  I'M fascinated with dragons. =)  We played a game with the kids once during our family worship time where we were each asked what we would create, if we could create ANYTHING.  I told them I'd create a dragon (Eragon style ;)).  Okay, back to the point.  In the quote, the idea is that yes, life here looks pretty crummy, but we have something AWESOME that makes the yuck less.

My "dragon" is hope in Jesus Christ.  This life can be pretty yucky. =P  Just turn on the news and you'll get a heavy dose of natural disasters, suffering, pain, and death.  In fact, you don't even need the news!  Just interact with people & one of these things will touch you.  So what is hope in Jesus Christ?  It is the gospel.  Jesus is fully man & fully God.  He was born as a human, on earth, in time.  He lived a life of perfect obedience to God's standard.  He paid the FULL penalty of God's wrath against the sins of His people when He died on the cross.  And... HE'S COMING BACK!!!  When He returns to His world, He will remove all the yuck & His church will live with Him FOREVER! =)  That makes me happy! =)

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:16-23