Chris' prayer: Rich Mullins' "That Where I Am, There You..."

Ah, Rich Mullins. One of my favorite Christian artists and a fascinating man, someone who was always searching for a clearer and clearer truth. That Where I Am, There You... is a fantastic song. This line is my favorite:

If I go prepare a place for you, I will come back again

I love the assurance that the second half of the line provides. I picture a father, crouching down to his child, looking him square in the eyes, holding the child's hands, and repeating until his son or daughter understands. "I will be right back. I'll be right back for you. Okay?" That is the assurance we are getting from our Lord in today's song. The assurance that He'll be back for us, that we have not been abandoned.

The first half of the line has tremendous importance, though. I suppose that God, being God, didn't really have to leave us at all. I'm sure that He could have shaken His hands about, creating the place that was prepared for us while He was right here on Earth. However, that is not how it happened. Instead, we were left while He went to prepare our place in Heaven.

Why, exactly?

I get the feeling that, rather than being "left," we were trusted. Trusted with an unbelievable task: the task of building the Kingdom of God right here on Earth. God could have done all of this Himself, but instead, He chose to trust us to love one another, to spread the good news of the Gospels, to provide compassion and hope to our brothers and sisters.

It's a heavy assignment. Fortunately, He has told us that we won't have to go about it alone forever. He'll be right back for us.


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