"Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes - who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said , "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."(Revelation: 7:13-17)
Later in the book:
"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. One each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light And they will reign for ever and ever."(Revelation 22:1-5)
Those passages are long, and I have little to add to them, but I wanted to share them in light of what I wrote about yesterday. If you remember (or look back) I said that tears are a natural part of our lives here on earth, but that better things are coming. The better things are described in these passages, with such beauty that it makes me ache with longing. This is what we have to look forward to.
Have you ever cried tears of joy? It's a remarkable feeling when our hearts are so overcome with bliss that it spills out in tears (very much the opposite of what I described yesterday). When I think of that feeling, I think of the times I've gone to the wedding of someone very dear to me. I'm notorious for crying when I watch a bride who is one of my friends walking down the aisle. Her joy is so contagious, and it feels like my heart will burst with happiness for her. I think it's safe to say that in heaven we will feel that contagiously ecstatic all the time. Never tiring, never wanting, surrounded by the host of believers and basking in the light of the Lamb. If that can't inspire hope, I don't know what can.
"Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)
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