Isaiah 25:6 -- On God's Feast

"And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it."

Isaiah 25:6


This is some interesting stuff.  The previous chapter is about the second coming, and this continues, telling some of the things that will happen.  It sounds like a feast is one of them.  Probably literal, and also symbolic.  God provides for his people, and feasting is often a symbol of celebration... and what a celebration it will be when Christ returns in his glory.  The "swallow up death in victory" part will be huge.  We won't have a need to cry anymore, because God will make *all* of it okay with his coming.  No matter how bad history is up to that point, it will still be a great day of rejoicing.  I think that is the power that God has in everyday life as well... he can make everything all right, no matter how bad it is.  He can give us perspective, and help us to see the goodness all around us.  Just one glimpse of heaven is enough to make all our earthly pain seem insignificant.  Not pointless.  We are here for important reasons, and we need to be here and learn these lessons.  But compared with heaven, and the joy there... it all pales.
Which brings us to the "covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations."  The reason that a glimpse of heaven affects us so much is that we connect with it.  The spirit part of us is immortal.  We knew God before we were born, but our mortal selves can't remember, because if we remembered, we wouldn't have true freedom of choice.  We'd be overwhelmed with the knowledge of God, and we would never be tempted at all to choose otherwise.  But God wants us to have what *we* want... and to find that out, he places us in an environment where we can figure it out.  Maybe a little bit like boarding school, or going off to college away from our parents for the first time.  We go to learn, to experience a little bit of independence, and see what we do with it.  And what we do with it, and the choices that we make, shape the rest of our lives... or eternity, in this case. :)
Someday that veil over our memories and over all the earth is going to be gone... and we are *all* going to remember God.  Which also seems like a pretty good reason for a celebration. :)  Today, let's remember that death and tears and all of our problems are temporary, and none of it can affect us permanently unless we let it get to us and change us for the worse.  We're just at Earth boarding school so we can learn what we really want, and what we really value, and unless we run away, God will welcome us home when we're done.  Let's learn everything we can, and remember where we came from... and not ruin our chances of going home, or attending the celebratory feast. :)