A
change of weather with the turn of August into September has made the mornings
and evenings pleasant. It’s not
just that they are cooler; the air feels different in a way I had almost
forgotten during the long summer.
The
refreshing change has turned my thoughts back to another late August, the most
pleasant one I’ve ever experienced – my first days in Oxford in 2007.
I
had just arrived there to study at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance
Studies. I got there a few days
early to settle in before the courses started. And I was excited.
I was about to live a dream of studying in Oxford. And the perfect weather had me that
much more eager to explore and experience.
The
combination of reveling in a new and happy experience and of looking forward to
living out a dream made those perhaps the happiest days of my life. (I know what you’re thinking. I’ve never been married.) Nine years later, I can still almost
taste how it felt.
There
was the ancient city of Oxford to experience, one of the great libraries of the
world to explore, church bells and music everywhere, glorious worship and
glorious architecture, along with varieties of Englishness to make one smile.
And even blackberries along the River Thames towpath and a mum and her boy
shopping had a newness I enjoyed.
I’m
hesitant to compare Oxford with the kingdom of God. But is that not what it will be like when Christ brings in
His Kingdom? He will “make all
things new.” (Revelation 21:5) And
not only will we get to revel in the newness, including us being new, we will look forward to enjoying God and his pure and
glorious goodness forever.
Perhaps
that is the secret to happiness, if there is such a thing – to have experiences
you enjoy now, particularly something good and new to venture into, along with
a future to look forward to.
Yes,
this world can hardly provide that although those first days in Oxford were
almost intoxicating. Still, it
turned out a dark, rainy Autumn in Oxford was not as pleasant as August. That’s the way of Oxford and of this world. But God can certainly give newness and
a future better than we can even imagine.
So
I am happy to enjoy the newness of this present turn of August into September
and to look forward to the future turn of the kingdoms of this world into the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
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