He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. ( Isaiah 25:7 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. –8)

With all our imperfections, we have tasted the honey of divine life, and it has made our eyes sparkle.

Christ is walking with us. Not because we are so much fun to be with but because he loves to make house calls on patients who glory in his medical expertise. He is not partial to the healthy. But he has a special fondness for the homeliest, weakest, sickliest patients whose eyes sparkle when he enters the room.

What a motley sanatorium we are! Paralyzed, clubfooted, humpbacked, pockfaced, nearsighted, cancer-eaten! But there is life in Jesus’s church! The Doctor’s here! He’ll touch any sore without a flinch. And O, how it soothes.

He spends time. He talks. He looks you in the eye. He takes your elbow when you rise. He asks how you are doing. He promises he’ll be back. And he comes!

Sometimes he reads from his book about the day when he will finish all his therapy and make us perfect — like him. I can hardly wait. The other day he read me this about his Father’s plans:

He will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. ( Isaiah 25:7 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. –8)

It made my eyes sparkle. I would have done a back flip like a baby gorilla — if I weren’t crippled. But I did lift my hands. Hallelujah. Three cheers for the Doctor!