In the late 90's, I watched a Italian movie, "Life is Beautiful" which I still remember till this day.

It is about a Jewish-Italian bookshop owner who tried to shield his son from the horrors of Nazi occupation during World War II. For his son, life appeared to be beautiful as his father did his comic best throughout the movie to shield him from the dark realities of life. Just as Western liberating forces was approaching, his father was finally led to his death and even then, he still put up a front and his son did not realise what was happening.

Only in adulthood, did he realise how much his father had sacrificed for him to ensure he had a beautiful perspective of life as a child. 

In some ways, this is a parable of our life here as well. There is so much beauty and good. And yet, so much of this life is deeply marred. As we can see from this passage: 

There is distress.

There are tears, weeping actually.

An infant who died young, some at birth.

An adult who never reached his full life and potential.

A house that one never got to live in. Or even if he did, never quite a home due to family brokenness and pain. 

A farm that never benefited the planter. A man's life-work came to nothing. 

The list goes on. Some of us have experienced this. Or just as troubling, pains observed. 

The Christian hope - heaven as some of us will call it - is a hope for perfect restoration of what life is suppose to be. 

No more tears. Work and creativity that produces. A true home. Everlasting life. 

The thing is, this is what Jesus has come to redeem.. Unlike the film, His Son was not shielded by His Father. He experienced life in all its darkness and evil. 

That of what we know as "earth and heavens" may be made new (and perfect). Jesus new body (first fruits - see 1 Cor 15:20) is a promise of what is to come in this new order. 

Continue to follow Jesus and one day, we will experience in perfection life, love, creativity, home, family and God. 

And talking about home, it cannot be perfect without my late mum being there. I hope my dad will be there too. 

Life is indeed beautiful because of this hope we have in Christ our Redeemer.