Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

One of my very favorite Christian contemporary songs is by Mercy Me entitled “I Can Only Imagine”. I remember the first time I heard it and it is such a moving song. They eventually made a movie about the song. There is also a Bible study by the same title which I shared a few years ago with the residents at the Bucktail Medical Center and then we watched the movie. They all loved it!

In this song, it reminds us of what it will be like when we get to stand before Jesus when we leave this earth. It has been said that the beauty that we experience on earth is only a glimpse of what we will see in Heaven.

There are many events that happen on earth that we can only imagine what people go through. The fires in California tear at our heartstrings as we see the devastation every day in the news. The hostages get set free from Israel and we can only imagine how they feel after being held captive for over 400 days. Yes, there is so much that we have no clue about, but we can only imagine.

In the Bible, we read that we need to be alert and get ready for that day when Jesus will return and there will be no more wars, no more tears, no more sadness, no more evil, no more destruction and we will get to spend eternity in Heaven and see Jesus face to face. That’s what this song is all about. Here are a few words from it: “I can only imagine, When that day comes, Standing in the Son, When all I will do, Is forever worship you”. That’s forever, when we will bow down and worship the Jesus that we believe in and trust in as we walk on this earth.