TEXT TO REFLECT ON
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” REVELATIONS 21:3-4
REFLECT
At the end of all the tribulations, the Apostle John writes that there will be a good end, an end far better than what we can imagine. But what is so good about this end, we ask. What would excite me for all eternity? What would be so captivating that I will never be bored, not for one day, but for years and years and years without end? Streets of gold might excite me for a couple of days; I just received my year-end bonus and it got me exited for a couple of hours; so everything gold might catch my interest for a couple of days. A room with a view? Well that might be good for a vacation, but I will probably not notice it after maybe a month. What could so captivate that I would want to be engaged with it forever?
I have mild ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) and get easily bored. I once thought it sexy to spend a week on a desert island. So I made a trip to Pangkor Island in West Malaysia. That was in the 80s when the island was not developed yet. I thoroughly enjoyed the beach and the forest and the very fresh seafood. And the enjoyment lasted all of four days.
I have travelled much of the United States of America while studying there, and much of Europe while my daughter was studying there. And I felt jaded after a couple of days. Everything looked the same after a few visits, every cathedral, every opulent mansion. I imagined staying in the poshest hotel; it felt luxurious for a few days and then felt passe after that. I understood why a friend who lived in a palace was constantly renovating his home. One gets bored with it after a while. So what would be so exciting that I would want to live forever with it? I felt like the wise man who wrote Ecclesiastes and who discovered after years of self-indulgent living that everything was bland and life was meaningless.
Have we tried God Himself? Not God who creates streets of gold and skies of opal, or provides soccer fields for football enthusiasts in heaven, but just God Himself. That it is God who satisfies us with Himself, and not with the things that we think can entertain us? That heaven is glorious simply because God is there, and not because of the gilded passageways, or the colossal halls that we imagine heaven to have? Have we considered that simply being with God could be the pleasure above all pleasures that could captivate us for all eternity?
The passage in Revelations suggests that simply because God has made His dwelling place among us, is reason enough for us to want to live forever. His living with us will wipe every tear and comfort every heart and give us every reason to live. Forever.
RELATE
I have had several glimpses of this reality in my life and in the lives of some friends. Let me relate one.
Dominic had made his fortune selling narcotic drugs. He lived an extravagant life in high and wild living. Until he was arrested and sentenced to death. While in prison awaiting his execution, Dominic met God. At first through visions and dreams, and then as a friend who stayed with him every moment in his bare prison cell. Dominic conversed with God like one who conversed with a friend, they talked about everything under the sun. And this God was not an imaginary friend. He listened to Dominic and answered prayers (the details are too many for this devotional). Basically Dom and God became best friends. You may think Dom had gone bonkers in his prison cell. But Dom was totally sane. Prison guards who surveiled his cell 24/7 testified that there was nothing mad about Dom. It was just that he and God were best friends. Dom remained in prison for about a year before he was executed. About a week before his execution, after he had been informed of his impending fate, Dom reminisced to me that that year in prison was the happiest and most pleasurable he had ever had. A bare prison cell is simply bare. It comprises a cement floor with a straw mat and a blanket, a toilet bowl and a tap. And in that cell, Dom found a pleasure that was beyond all pleasures. A day before his execution, Dom told me that when he got to heaven, his first response would b e to “cry like a baby”. When asked why, he explained: “I tasted so much joy and the love of Jesus this one year. The Bible says that this is just a taster of what it will be like when I meet Jesus face to face. So I just cannot imagine how I will respond except to cry and cry for joy.”
I think Dom discovered what will sustain his interest for eternity.
REST
Father, in this life, help me to taste the joy of your presence. Amen
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