And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” Psalm 55:6

Some have said that British physicist Stephen Hawking has the most brilliant mind in the world. They may be right, but most of us would still prefer to be us. You see, professor Hawking, at the age of 22, was diagnosed with an illness that has robbed him of almost all mobility. Today, while the man’s mind is free and has done some brilliant things, his body is confined to a wheelchair, and he must converse through a specially designed computer.

This is why when a U.S. firm called "Zero Gravity" offered Hawking the opportunity to ride in a specially equipped plane that would allow him to experience the freedom of weightlessness, the professor immediately agreed. Hawking was brought aboard a specially designed 747 that took off from the runway used by the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Through a series of climbs and dives, the professor, with the help of trained assistants, experienced a total of four minutes of weightlessness.

It’s hard to imagine what that experience must have felt like to the professor who was no longer strapped into a wheel chair or confined by this world’s limitations. Maybe professor Hawking said it best when, after his return to earth, he enthusiastically commented, “I could have gone on and on."

Do you think that Jesus’ redeemed people will feel much like professor Hawking did when they get to heaven? So much of what we live with, which we accept as being “normal,” isn’t normal at all. Since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden, sin and its catastrophic consequences have played havoc with what God intended. Ever since, all of humanity has echoed the words of the Psalmist, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” Think for a moment. What will it be like to “fly away and be at rest”, or to enjoy a place where there is no horror and heartbreak, no trouble and terror, no pain, and no problems?

The Savior came into this world as our ransom so that believers might be taken to a place of rest. Now, with Spirit-given faith in the Christ, we know that when this life is over, we will enjoy eternity as God had intended us to enjoy it. Will we join with Professor Hawking and say, “I could have gone on and on?”

Because of Jesus, we will.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, by Your sacrifice You have freed me from the shackles of sin, the confinement of this world, and have given me eternal life. May the praise I offer You go on and on and on. In Your name I ask it, Amen.




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Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 30-31    Luke 24:1-35

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