See You Later George

This past Saturday I had the ominous task of standing by the casket of a good friend and sharing some thoughts intended to comfort his family and friends.  George T. Quinn was a lot of things to a lot of people; husband, father, grandfather, brother, co-worker, Christian brother.  But to me, George was a true friend.  True friendship is certainly a very precious gift.  Unfortunately, in our fast-paced, self-serving society many people fail to ever experience the depth of joy that comes from a lifelong friend.  While I have personally been blessed throughout my lifetime with deep friendships, it is still sad to lose one even though I know that one day we will be eternally reunited.

George taught me a lot during our many talks together and my life has been enriched by his encouragement and support.  Yet, as I stood beside him while he was ushered from this life into the next, God revealed to me the deepest joy of true Christian friendship: it is eternal.  The Bible says that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”  (Rom. 8:38-39)  Similarly, when that kind of Godly love is shared between two friends, nothing can defeat it; not separation of space, not difficult circumstances, not social or cultural pressures, not even death itself.  It is eternal.

So in those last few moments I had no reason to say goodbye to my dear friend.  Rather, I simply whispered, “see you later George.”  Hallelujah. 

The Joshua Syndrome

I was thinking about coining a new phrase; The Joshua Syndrome.   (At least it is new to me.)  Do you remember Joshua of the Old Testament?  He grew up as a slave down in Egypt until the people of God were delivered at the hand of Moses.  He was then selected as one of the twelve spies to go into the promised land of Canaan to scout out the land that God had promised to give them.  Upon return, it was Joshua and Caleb who were the only two that believed God, and wanted to move forward and possess the land.  The other ten were afraid of the giants in the land and persuaded the people to flee into the wilderness.  For forty years Joshua was forced to live in a barren, dessert land even though he had personally seen the beautiful land that God had promised them.

Here we find the Joshua Syndrome.  I have often wondered if Joshua would have considered it a blessing or a curse to have been able to actually see the Promised Land.  He had seen first hand the “land flowing with milk and honey”; a vast fertile land that would certainly provide for a prosperous and blessed life for himself and his family.  As he wondered through the dry and barren dessert, did the memories of “what could have been” haunt him on a daily basis?  Would he have been better off to be like the multitude of others around him who had never actually seen the glory of the Lord and therefore had no idea of what they were missing?   Was his wilderness experience even more depressing than most because he had seen the other side?

Or, were his memories a blessing?  Did he privately rejoice that he had been given the privilege to see just how good God had intended life to be?   Truly, he had been blessed to see first hand what others would never see.  Imprinted on his heart was a clear and life changing picture of God’s intention for himself and his people.  Was he strengthened through the daily trials by the realization that God’s promise was eternal and one day his wilderness would, in fact, end?   

Sometimes I find myself right in the middle of the Joshua Syndrome.   Times when I have seen clearly the promised glory of the Lord but have been forced to wait in a wilderness because of circumstances beyond my control.  At times I have felt cursed and became discouraged because that waiting seemed long and difficult.  Other times, however, I have felt blessed by the sheer fact that God is not slack concerning His promises and in time, “faith will become sight.”

What do you think?  Is the Joshua Syndrome a blessing or a curse?

By the way, Joshua actually got to lead God’s people into the Promised Land after forty years of wilderness.  God is so good.