Sometimes when the Lord gives us a song, it teaches us. An example of this is the song "Now and Then" that the Lord gave me a few months ago. Here are the words:
- 1 -
Now I’m sharing Father’s throne and resting in His glory;
then I suffered all alone and bore your sin and shame.
Now the angels sing my song and millions tell my story;
then, I didn’t have a friend, and no one called my name.
Now, I sing a song of joy alone unto my Father;
then the song the drunkards sang disgraced me everywhere.
Now, whenever you feel down, I take it to my Father;
then, when tears fell from my eyes, no one even cared.
– Chorus No. 1 –
Now, I have a place of rest . . . from all the earth, from all its strife.
Then, I had no comforter . . . no help or home where I could hide.
Now, God’s mighty angels bow and tremble at my power;
then, men beat me to the ground and nailed me to a tree.
- 2 -
Now I’m sharing Father’s throne and resting in His glory;
but He has promised me that I can bring you here someday.
Now, I’m waiting for the time appointed by my Father;
then I’ll rise up from my throne and come take you away.
Now, I sing a song of joy alone unto my Father;
but then, we’ll lift our voice and sing together all His praise.
Now, whenever you feel down, I take it to my Father;
then, He’ll hold you in His arms and brush your tears away.
Now, you have no place of rest . . . from all the earth, from all its strife.
Then, you’ll have a hiding place, with me at home right by my side.
Now, I sit and dream of then, when we can sing together;
then, upon the crystal sea, we’ll give our Father praise.
Pay close attention to the second verse (in bold). It is a thought I had never had until Jesus gave me this song. It tells us that, even though he is gloried now and sitting at the Father’s right hand, Jesus is not perfectly content because we are not yet home with him. We are not the only ones looking forward to the future; Jesus is, too. He died so that we might be with him where he is, ans we are not there yet. How can he feel perfect contentment until the reason he suffered and died is fulfilled?
This lets us know that it is acceptable with God for us not to be perfectly content, either. We have peace with God; nevertheless, we all want something else: salvation. And Jesus will bring that with him when he returns for his faithful saints. We all – even those who have fallen asleep in Christ – feel incomplete while we are here in this world. We all who belong to Christ are misfits on earth, "strangers and pilgrims", and only the coming of the Lord will remedy that, for he will take us to the place we belong.
I always pictured Jesus as having reached the goal and, so, being absolutely and perfectly at rest, but the love for us that led him to the cross forbids that. He cannot be perfectly content until we are safely home, with him and the Father.
