Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever (Revelation 22:1-4).
We talk about heaven a lot in my house. People who have gone home before us - mostly my momma. It's hard to fathom but easy to wander through our imaginations of what it might be like. The Bible is very clear and talks about heaven more than 500 times. I figure if God talks about it that much...then we are meant to talk about it that much.
Revelation 22 is one of my favorite contrasting descriptions of heaven vs earth. The river of the water of life that flows from the center of the city, will be "bright as crystal" - nothing like the dungy Mississippi River that I see each day. The tree of life will yield 12 kinds of fruit – again, nothing like any bounty we've seen from trees in my neighborhood. There will be no more seasonal affective disorders from long months without sun light and Vitamin D because there will be "no more night". The Lord God will be our light always and forever.
Aren't those joy-inducing words from the book of Revelation?! I've heard many people avoid this book because they don't understand it or think it's scary. To me, it's HOPE - a confident expectation. God himself says "blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." Read it today.
I have found that when I stop thinking about heaven, I stop looking up and start looking around. Looking around is certainly not encouraging. The confident expectation of Heaven - that's encouraging & empowering. Thank you LORD for the HOPE I have in You as I walk this road of life during my temporary residency. Enable me and equip me to be salt and light to my world in work and life. In Jesus name I ask these things, amen.
