7a “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will
see him..." 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,
“who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
When you see your Lord face to face, what do you
imagine will happen? If you were asked to paint a picture of what
that initial encounter will look like, how would you draw it?
I have many images in my mind of what that moment will be like -
sometimes I imagine I will immediately fall at God's feet; sometimes I
think I will just keep on staring at the Lord, weeping with joy; other
times, I imagine I will be singing and dancing in praise, or maybe all
three will happen.
Perhaps you don't dwell on what heaven and that initial meeting
of God will look like because you are too bogged down with worries of your
current life. Or maybe you don't think of these things because you are
content with your life here on earth.
John paints a picture of the second arrival of Christ coming
down with the clouds. He says every eye will see the Lord and that
all peoples on earth will mourn (it is unknown if this is a reference to
just the unbelievers or to all people). This heartbroken response is
consistent with Isaiah's proclamation, "woe is me", when he
encountered God, because in light of God's righteousness, his sinfulness
was magnified, which led to the mourning of his transgressions (Isaiah 6).
But for the faithful, there is an anticipation of something
better. John reminds us that Jesus freed us from our sins by His
blood. He has made us to be a Kingdom and has given us the task of being
priests who will serve our God forever. This is the promise of the the
everlasting, unchanging One, who existed before time and will exist forever
- the ALMIGHTY.
Doesn't this fill you with anticipation? You may not know what
that initial encounter with God will look like, but whether you are in the
midst of your worries, or in the midst of your contented life, or even in
the middle of your greatest despair, THERE IS HOPE - a hope of spending
eternity with our Creator, engaged in everlasting praise and service to our
Savior. This is what we were created for. What a joy to look
forward to for eternity! It is a good thing to reflect on Heavenly
matters, even if we don't completely know what everlasting life with our
Savior will be like.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for
giving us a glimpse of what our encounter with You will be like. We
praise You for the hope that this promise of eternity with You instills in us.
Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
"I can only imagine when that day comes, And I find
myself standing in the Son, I can only imagine when all I will do, Is forever,
forever worship you,
I
can only imagine..."
"I
can only imagine" by MercyMe
|