HIGH CRIME IN MAYBERRY
Imagine living in a town where the local paper reports crimes such as these:
A bird was stuck in some wiring, which officers freed in twelve minutes.
Police and fire department responded to a call about a dishwasher with smoke billowing from it. Turned out to be steam.
A driver created an unsafe situation by driving without their headlights luminated.
These are actual “crimes” reported in the Police Blotter of the Boulder City (Nevada) Review, a Mayberry-like community where several of my family members reside. In fact, my youngest nephew even found his name gracing the page of the Blotter.
He was home when police knocked on his door. The cops entered with hands on holsters. They’d received a report that someone was being brutally murdered at his house. Turned out, Aaron and a friend were playing high-crime video games with the volume on full-blast. A frightened neighbor had reported a “murder” occurring. The officers solved the murder by telling the boys to turn the volume down.
Most of us long for a place where the most heinous crime would be two teens loudly playing video games. There’s a reason for this longing. We weren’t made for this world—we were created for eternity. God promises his faithful followers that we’ll receive a “new heaven and earth” where “no longer will there be any curse” (Rev.22:3). Jesus assures us, “I am making everything new” (Rev.21:5).
In the meantime, we groan, eagerly awaiting the day of our deliverance (Romans 8:23). Of course, God fills our lives with an abundance of rich blessings, but they’re just a sample of sweeter times ahead; so wonderful we can't even imagine them, We'll be free from fear and sorrow ... and that includes worries over such earth-shaking matters as two noisy teenagers.
Ponder:
How does the promise of our future home fill you with hope?
In what specific areas of life do you “groan” waiting for our day of deliverance?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Revelation 21 & 22.
Lord God, thank you for your promise of a new future beyond this world. As we “groan” in this life, fill us with the hope of eternity.