Day 243

This is what we are all waiting for, heaven. The deepest longings of the human heart reach out for intimacy with God, and now we see it restored. What was lost in the Fall is regained. God starts afresh in His dwelling with us. The results of the Fall are erased. No more tears or death. Sorrow and pain are done away with. These are a result of sin in the world. God takes away all the sin, and all the results of sin.

There won’t be any tears! Since returning from Iraq, my life has had many more tears. I touch the lives of those who carry the burdens of war with them. And I carry a few myself. I know spouses who carry the burden of an empty seat at the holiday table. Emptiness can be a hard thing to describe and understand by those who have not experienced this kind of loss at war.

But someday, no matter the earthly circumstance, all Jesus-followers will live without the results of sin. No painful sorrow. Joy will become the order of the day. God makes everything new. John is told to write it down. Everything new. Every need is met.

We get a glimpse of the brilliance and beauty of heaven as seen through John’s eyes. I wish we had video of this moment. But even video could not capture the moment. I am sure John would have just dropped the camera, and we would have footage of some rock.

The new place we will spend eternity is more beautiful than we can imagine. It is a physical place, since John is able to measure it. We are not just spirit-beings floating around in an undefined space. We have bodies and a physical place to inhabit with God.

One thing to note: all the earthly authorities will submit to God. They all bring the little reflections of God’s glory into God’s presence. John says this twice. All glory and honor is brought into the brilliance of God’s presence. And we can have a place there.

John mentions the book of life again. Is your name there? Have you submitted your life to Jesus and then begun to walk that out in obedience? If you love Him, you will keep His commands. Faith and obedience always go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.

God’s presence, and entrance into His presence, is not confined to one particular place, like an earthly temple. His presence permeates the entire realm of this new heaven and earth. Sin has not blocked our view of His glory. In fact, nothing gets in the way of full access to God.