I have always hated to see a helium-filled balloon “die”. You know the scenario. You are given or buy a helium filled balloon and let it go in a room and watch it rise to the ceiling. With the latex balloons, usually by next day or so, the balloon no longer floats and “dies”, scuttling along on the floor. With the Mylar balloons, the life is extended for a few weeks. But still, all balloons eventually succumb to the same fate. This is why after a few hours with a balloon in my possession, I want to release it in the air, so that I never have to see the dismal ending. My wife thinks this is an odd, although somewhat amusing, behavior. However, after my son was born, we found, much to my delight, that he inherited my peculiar desire to also release helium-filled balloons.
This past weekend, my son wanted to release two Mylar helium balloons. However, he also had two other latex air balloons that he wanted to tie to the Mylar balloons. We tied the red and orange latex air balloons to the the two Mylar balloons and released them. The blue sky was perfectly clear with no clouds. My wife and I stood there for nearly 30 minutes watching the balloons disappear from sight, easily soaring several thousand feet high. Finally, we could no longer discern the tiny dots of color.
Eventually, perhaps even within the next few hours, the cold temperatures and decreasing atmospheric pressures would cause the Mylar balloon to shatter. But the height that it would occur would be far beyond our eyes would ever see. So, although I am sure the balloon will die, I would not witness it. I would be spared to watch its demise.
When God saves us through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ, all of our multitude of sins, like the balloons, are taken away, out of our sight and minds, to be completely shattered and destroyed by His sacrifice on the Cross.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:10-12
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He spares us the incomprehensible fate of eternal separation from God. He loves us with such a consuming passion that He died to forgive us our sins, scattering them further than the eye can see or imagine, as far as from the east is to the west, to allow us to enter into a personal relationship with God.
Sometime in the future, my family will release a balloon once again. And as we watch it disappear from our sight, never to see its final demise, we can draw comfort that God has spared us the sting of death. He has assured us that we, and everyone who calls upon His name, need not ever fear death or the grave. And unlike the balloons, we will continue to soar upward to meet Him in Heaven someday, because nothing will ever separate us from His love and mercy.
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Corinthians 15: 54-55
Take the yoke of Jesus and allow Him to lead you.
Amen!
The Bereans Blog 