8-7-2024
We didn’t go to the State Fair when I was a kid, and I didn’t go in my early adulthood either…except for a concert or two. But about 20(?) years ago, one of my friends worked at the State Fair and he invited me to come up and ride around on his assigned golf cart with him. So I did. And I loved it!! I’ve been going ever since.
He has long since ceased working at the fair, but my wife and I still go every year….multiple times. There is just something about the state fair. For some, I’m guessing it’s the rides, but I’m way too old for that. For others it’s seeing all of the livestock. C’mon, the biggest bull? The biggest boar? There’s a lot of hamburger and pepperoni right there! For still others it’s the machinery, or maybe the displays or the concerts or maybe even the food. I know it isn’t, but maybe the motto of the fair should be, “If you can fry it, you can eat it!”
I like all of those things and so much more (except, perhaps, all of the fried foods……there is such a thing as too much HA HA). One more thing I enjoy is – are you ready for this – all of the people who come together to laugh and celebrate family, heritage and culture. What could be better than getting to hang out with 100,000 of your closest friends on any given day? I like to see parents pushing babies in strollers, children dancing with excitement, grey haired men and women smiling at memories, couples sharing a funnel cake and everyone marveling at the butter cow.
I know that God loves people, and like Bob Goff, I’m convinced that He must like laughter.
If the laughter of children thrills us, how much more does our laughter thrill Him? God likes to see people coming together to enjoy one another. Maybe that’s why Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding feast, providing new wine when the wine ran out, or the reason His teaching is filled with references to banquet feasts and parties, like the fatted calf killed and cooked to celebrate the prodigal’s return. Heaven is described as a great banquet feast, a mansion with many rooms, a place where all peoples, cultures and languages of the world gather in celebration and joy.
The state fair, of course, isn’t heaven. It certainly isn’t perfect. But heaven is.
Our moments of celebration and enjoyment – at the fair or anywhere else – give us just a tiny glimpse of what God has prepared in Heaven. The New Testament book of Revelation, chapter 21, reminds us of this:
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
(Revelation 21:3-4, NLT)
I look forward to the state fair each year, but not like I look forward to heaven. The state fair is great……..but heaven is greater. And heaven is the ultimate destination of all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Until we arrive there, well, there’s the state fair, and so many other things where we can find joy until we arrive in His presence for all eternity.
Until that happens, I’m off to the fair………..again!