by Precarious Yates
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, – 1 Peter 1:3-4
There has been so much death lately—so much sickness and death. It hard to see that and not drown in hopelessness.
Hope is a benchmark of the living. As long as there is life, there is hope for another breath. It’s proverbial, and to some quite foolish how strongly humans hope.
And for those of us who love Jesus, there is a Living Hope. It’s not that we’re beacons for an idea or a cause, but we are beacons of hope for everlasting communion with the King of the universe, who calls Himself Love. God Himself lights that torch, that bonfire of hope within our heart.
That communion and community with others are our great reward in heaven. Peace unending, joy uninterrupted: these are our rewards in heaven too. Love without burnout, patience without a clock check: these are almost impossible to imagine, but they’ll be ours, so let’s go right ahead and unleash our imaginations!
Let’s meditate on heaven a moment.
There are streets of gold, huge gates made from a single pearl (have you ever imagined how big that oyster might be?), a tree of life so big that it spans across rivers of living water, and a throne from which flows this river of living water. The tree has leaves that are for healing the nations. Can you think of a single nation that doesn’t need those leaves right now? And then there’s the fruit: there are 12 different kinds of fruit from one tree. How different is one fruit from another?
These are the kinds of questions I’ve been asking the Holy Spirit lately. And some that He’s been asking me.
There are aspects of death that are scary: will it hurt? What will happen to my loved ones? Who will be the first to greet me?
But the more we meditate on heaven, and the more we fix our hope on the Living Hope, the less we fear death. For Jesus came to conquer that fear and give us hope for everlasting life!
Although death is a natural part of this life, there is something about it that is unnatural. Death wasn’t what God intended. He intended life—everlasting life—in beautiful communion with Him and others.
Grieving is natural. And while there is sickness and death to this magnitude on a global scale as has been happening in this pandemic, grieving is a proper response. But let us not grieve as those who have no hope, but rather:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23
Heaven awaits, and He who promised is faithful! Let’s fix our gaze there!
God bless you!
Precarious Yates
About the Author:
Precarious Yates has lived in 8 different states of the Union and 3 different countries, but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter and their big dogs. When she’s not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of making tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky® disentangling.
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