New Heavens and New Earth

“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.  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.”

Revelation 21:3-4

Do you ever face days, or even seasons of life, when you are struggling with despair? Sometimes life feels burdensome, as though you are dragging yourself begrudging through it and you feel that it is hardly worth living at all. Or perhaps you love life and find it so beautiful that you worry you won't have enough time to see every site, taste every flavor, or do every activity. Life is simply so exciting that you cling to it too closely. Regardless of where you sit on the spectrum, for the believer in Christ, the truth is that there is something better and it is so worth waiting for.

Lately I have been reflecting on the above verse, contemplating the new heavens and the new earth. Just take a moment to think about what God says in Revelation 21...He himself will dwell with us! Not only that, but when he ushers in the new heavens and earth, there will be no more pain, no more hunger, no more sorrow, all will be well, and all will be good. We will enter God's paradise, something so much greater than even the garden where Adam and Eve dwelt, for the whole earth and the heavens also will be paradise to us and no hint of evil will remain. This future is so exciting that even creation longs for it because “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now" (Romans 8:21-22).

How amazing is that?

Think of the best thing in this life. The new heavens and earth will be that but so much better. Nothing will hinder our enjoyment of God and his delight in us. We will be with our Beloved. Every morning will be a perpetual sunrise and every evening a perpetual sunset. The night sky will be filled with stars innumerable and we will get to experience creation as it was intended in its unadulterated state. This will be our eternity. This life is but a drop in the ocean of beauty that God has invited us to experience.

I don't know about you, but this gets me excited to shed this body and be resurrected anew with Christ. The race is worth running, this life is worth persevering in. “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall" (Hebrews 4:11). If we desire to enter the rest of God as Hebrews 4 speaks of, then we must abide in God now and not give up. This life is our six days of work, but on the seventh day we will enter his sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9).

I think that the key to doing this is to keep our eyes towards the goal (Philippians 3:14), knowing how short this life is in comparison to what God has promised us in the future. I hope you can be encouraged by this and that it will help you when life feels burdensome or you perhaps not long enough. Whatever you miss out on now because of your pursuit of the kingdom will be restored a thousand times over in the new heavens and earth, our true home. Think on these things and you will abide in the joy of the Lord.

“Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Philippians 4:8