Great Expectations

I have a Grandson by the name of Max. Max is an eight year old who is all boy. If there is a kid version of a Manly Man, then he is it. Frogs, bugs, the whole enchilada.

Despite his blond hair and blue eyes, Max also happens to have some American Indian blood flowing through his veins. His paternal grandfather (who he is named after) was from the White Earth band of Ojibwe (Chippewa).

Last fall our family spent a weekend on the north shore of Lake Superior. As is often the case when we go there, I gathered a few choice pieces of driftwood to fashion into canes in my spare time. The stack of these "would be" walking aids seems to keep growing in my garage, since the spare time seems scarce. Knowing my propensity for fashioning these sticks, Max picked one out and asked me to make a walking stick (rather than a cane) for him. He had very specific instructions. He wanted the larger diameter end to be the bottom. He also wanted a band of leather of a specific width in a specific place. Being the good grandfather that I am, I completely ignored his instructions.

Actually, what I did was spend a little time searching the Internet for examples of ceremonial spears. That was the "flavor" I was looking to duplicate. The result was a walking stick that totally blew Max away. Far from being disappointed with my failure to build it to his specifications, Max was delighted. It was far and away better than his expectations. That is EXACTLY the reaction I was looking for.

We live in a society in which most of us get to have the majority of things we want (within reason). I am quite sure that in most cases those "things" wind up being a disappointment practically as soon as the wrapping comes off. Our expectations usually far outshine the actuality. Perhaps that is why I took as much delight in giving the walking stick to Max as he did in receiving it. It exceeded all expectations.

I couldn't help but think that this, in a small way, is a little like what God has in store for us. Of course the verse that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

I don't want to be found guilty of taking a verse too far out of context, so I want to point out that the following verse states: "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

Even so, I don't think I am overstating things to say that even if we do have a glimpse of the glory of the new heaven and new earth as described in the book of Revelation, it is still going to far exceed our expectations. I think it will totally blow us away, and I think that will be EXACTLY the reaction God is looking for!