The Real World

Who remembers the TV show “Dragon Tales”? You know, the cartoon show where two kids (Max and Emmy) have possession of an enchanted dragon scale that when holding and saying a magic rhyme, were transported to an imaginary place called “Dragon Land.” In Dragon Land, whimsical dragons Zak, Wheezie, and Cassie entertained Max and Emmy and became their new best friends. Max and Emmy always assisted the dragons in a particular quest. The dragons usually taught valuable lessons before Max and Emmy had to say that magic rhyme again and return home. That magic rhyme went like this: “I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land apart.”

When I was a child, I would go out into my backyard and say this rhyme, then spin around a few times to get myself dizzy (embarrassing right?). After the dizziness wore off, I would imagine that my backyard was my own version of Dragon Land. Once I was done with my adventures in the backyard, I would repeat this process to return to “The Real World.” While I never actually left “The Real World”, it was really fun to use my imagination. I mentioned in my last devotional that I don’t know what heaven looks like, but the Bible gives me great reason to use my imagination.

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, the Apostle Paul writes, “For though we live in this world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world.” Let’s be honest, our world as we currently know it is a little different right now. There are many “wars” being raged, and as Christians, we may not know how to respond. The Bible gives us great hope that while we are called to minister in our world, we are equipped to do so by another world…God’s Kingdom in heaven. To paraphrase 2 Corinthians 5:6, we know that when we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. We long to be out of our earthly bodies and one day, home with Christ.

I don’t think much about Dragon Land anymore, but I do try to imagine the everyday happenings in heaven and put them to practice here on Earth. Maybe my new rhyme should go like this: “I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to fly with angels in a land apart.”

-Jacob

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