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May 29, 2008

Finally Home

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READ: John 14:1-6

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. —John 14:3
Jan and Hendrikje Kasper sailed into United States waters in January 1957. Their family of 12, along with other Dutch immigrants on board the Grote Beer, crowded on deck to catch their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

That initial view of Lady Liberty was exciting—and emotional. They had just endured an arduous 11-day journey across the sea on a no-frills voyage. They had left many friends and family members behind in The Netherlands. They had experienced rough seas brought on by a hurricane and had dealt with seemingly endless seasickness. But now—finally—they had arrived. They were home!

Someday those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior will leave this life and go to the place He has prepared for us (John 14:3). The journey may be difficult or uncomfortable, but we certainly look forward to the final destination.

Composer Don Wyrtzen wrote the music for a wonderful song that pictures our earthly life as a “tempestuous sea.” It ends with these words:

Just think of stepping on shore—and finding it heaven!
Of touching a hand—and finding it God’s!
Of breathing new air—and finding it celestial!
Of waking up in glory—and finding it home!

When we see Jesus face to face for the first time—we will be “finally home.”

Those who love and serve God on earth will be right at home in heaven.

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 1–3; Proverbs 21:1-10

Here's your escalator to a new day:

The escalator began as an amusement and not as a practical transport. The first patent relating to an escalator-like machine was granted in 1859 to a Massachusetts man for a steam driven unit. In 1892, Jesse Reno patented his moving stairs or inclined elevator as he called it. In 1895, Jesse Reno created a new novelty ride at Coney Island from his patented design, a moving stairway that elevated passengers on a conveyor belt at a 25 degree angle.

The escalator as we know it was later re-designed by Charles Seeberger in 1897, who created the name ‘escalator’ from the word ‘scala’, which is Latin for steps and the word ‘elevator’, which had already been invented.

Charles Seeberger, together with the Otis Elevator Company produced the first commercial escalator in 1899 at the Otis factory in Yonkers, N.Y. The Seeberger-Otis wooden escalator won first prize at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle in France. Jesse Reno's Coney Island ride success briefly made Jesse Reno into “the” escalator designer and he founded the Reno Electric Stairways and Conveyors company in 1902.

Charles Seeberger sold his patent rights for the escalator to the Otis Elevator Company in 1910, who also bought Jesse Reno's escalator patent in 1911. Otis then came to dominate escalator production, and combined and improved the various designs of escalators.

Today, we have become totally dependent on the escalator ...

but still find ways to enjoy them.

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