Our Bright Future

Lately I've been considering the world that existed before the flood, even when Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden.  I have found it difficult to imagine a world different from what we experience today, an existence completely without the curse of sin that brought death and multiplied sorrow exponentially.  Life outside of Eden must have been a difficult adjustment for Adam and Eve, and it must have been difficult for Noah and his household as well to exit the ark into a world that hardly resembled what they previously knew.  Their relationship to animals changed as well, for the LORD put the fear of man upon living creatures.

One thing that is easier to comprehend (also ironic because it is unfathomable) is the ease of transition it will be for people who depart this world in physical death and will be received into eternal glory by God in heaven.  As our lives on earth will someday end, so the heavens and earth we see and experience now will also be brought to an end.  Revelation 21:1-4 says, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

It is hard to imagine a new heaven and new earth where God will dwell with His people free of the effects of sin's curse.  It is not hard to imagine how wonderful it will be to live with our glorious Saviour in a new world where death, sorrow, crying and pain have passed away and will be gone without a trace.  After his resurrection Jesus presented His hands marked by nails and His side pierced with a spear, yet there was not recollection of the pain He experienced, no tender scar tissue, no lamenting over His suffering or those who rejected the offer of salvation.  Our perfect God will make the eternal state perfect without flaw, leaving nothing to be desired, and all of our needs completely met in Him.

Since God has made this world that even soiled with sin man is loathe to leave and wants to preserve his fond memories forever, how much more lovely will it be in the place where only righteousness dwells?  In the eternal state our minds will never linger on the good that once was that seems presently absent, for it will always be good presently without respite.  The heavenly honeymoon stage will always be in the exciting present without weariness, boredom or thinking, "What's next?"  Praise God for the plans He has for us and the place Jesus is preparing for us.  These things we only see dimly pale in comparison to the knowledge of the God we know Who will Himself be with us forever. :)