Eternity

December 30

Malachi 1-2

Psalm 149

Proverbs 31:24-27

Revelation 21

Eternity

“Then I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them.  They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’  Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:1, 3, 4, 27 NIV

Revelation 21 gives us a picture of what eternity is going to be like.  I cannot even begin to fathom how beautiful it will be.  The description of streets of gold, giant doors made from a single pearl, walls decorated with every kind of precious stone, and no need for the sun or moon because everything is illuminated by God’s glory is beyond our comprehension.  In addition to all the beautiful things that will be there is the absence of the things that have made this life difficult.  There will be no more pain, no more tears, no more illness, and no more death.  There will be no sin.  There will be no Satan and no evil people who follow Him.  There will be no more lies and no more shame.  We will not struggle with sin and temptation.  We will not need to hide anything.  There will no more addiction and no more bondage, no more slavery or racism, and no more sexual perversion.   There will be no more war, or hate, or violence.  We will experience freedom and complete peace. 

We will be in the presence of Jesus.  We will finally get to see Him face to face and behold His glory.  We will understand the depth of His love for us.  I’m not sure if we will get insight about the things we did not understand that happened to us in our earthly lives or if those things just won’t matter anymore, but I am confident that we will be at peace with it either way.  And we will get to see our loved ones who passed away before us.  What a wonderful reunion that will be.  Relationships will be restored.  We will experience forgiveness and healing and all the hurt and emotional pain will be gone.  Dysfunctional family dynamics will be repaired, and we will be able to love and be loved unselfishly and completely.  This is the source of our hope.  I can only imagine what it will be like as I long for that day and wait in hope and anticipation.