Picture This; Isaiah series - Christian Lindbeck (Isa. 65:17-25; Matt. 5:14-16)

See.
Behold,
a spotlight narrows -
follow its beam.
Look what it illumines:
see how the story
moves on,
unscrolling through 
millennia
to reveal
the masterpiece.

Watch my re-
creation unfold,
the universe ignites
and blossoms into new
and glorious forms.
Your delight will 
overshadow and dwarf
your present pain -
it will melt away
like morning mist
evaporating under
a blissful sun.

So look forward
and celebrate the coming
joy now.
You can sing in the surety
of a place of belonging,
of being warm
and well-fed.
No sorrow will touch you
and laughter
will echo,
drowning out the grief
of a child and father
face down in the river.
My dear ones
will know the peace
of welcoming embraces
and purposeful hours;
when they speak
I will listen,
we will all walk together
again in the golden 
garden.

Can you not see it?
Can you taste it?

In the meantime -
this dusty in-between time -
work for and mirror
what will be.
Restoration is possible
in the here and now
and bits of Eden
will light the path
home.
Whet appetites
with your passion
for justice,
your compassion and 
selfless struggle for
the creation
of Shalom
in the now.

Picture it.