Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live 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.”

This is what we have to look forward to! Right now our appreciation of joy and peace is largely affected by our experience of their opposites, but that will not be the case in heaven. Probably, our time on earth will be quite sufficient to give us full appreciation for what comes after! Life on this fallen earth does have pain, sorrow, and all the rest, and we can either grow and be strengthened by it all, or we can become bitter and resentful, even to the point of being unable to appropriate the joy and peace that are available. As a side note, parents don’t want their children to suffer, but trying to protect children from all possibility of suffering can effectively damage those children far more than cuts, scrapes, and bruises ever could. The point of this passage, however, is that once we are in heaven, we are past all of that. I keep coming back to Paul’s phrase in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that all our suffering on earth is “light and momentary.” We could be greatly suffering for years, a lifetime, even, but if our faith and hope are in Jesus Christ, then all of that suffering will seem insignificant once we are with our Lord in heaven, as this passage says.

I remember when my mother was dying of metastatic cancer, and we were told her body was becoming lumpy because of all the tumors. (She was in the US and we were in Japan.) I wept, asking the Lord to take her home, because I knew the reality of what this verse says. Once she was gone, I had peace, knowing that she was receiving her reward for a life well lived in service to the Lord. There were some who could not understand my response, but there were others for whom it was a strong testimony of the hope that is in Christ alone. I do not fear death for myself at all, because that hope is clear in my heart, but I know that when someone passes, it isn’t easy for those who are left behind, so I do my best to be a good steward of the body I have been given. Knowing what lies ahead makes suffering more bearable, but it doesn’t make it pleasant! I am to trust God in everything, seeking to make the most of every opportunity, but leaving time and events in His hands, knowing that His plans are good.

Father, thank You for the assurance that I have in Christ Jesus my Lord. I desire that all around me have that assurance, yet so few seem to open their hearts to receive it. I pray that I would be increasingly effective in communicating the good news of salvation to all, so that a mighty company of people may join me before Your throne, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!