
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5 ESV)
Do you think about heaven? What will it be like when God makes everything new? The biblical language of heaven stretches our imagination. John writes of the city built of gold so pure that it is clear. (Rev. 21:18) Clear gold! How can you even imagine that?! The new creation, where death and sorrow are no more, will be so beautiful and amazing that our finite minds currently can’t imagine it. Everything will be transformed. All things made new. Including us.
We will be changed, made different. We will be far better with bodies that do not decay. Yes! And it isn’t just our bodies that will be changed, our hearts and minds will be transformed too! Heaven is sometimes presented as a magical place where everything you have ever wanted is finally given to you. Heaven is reduced to winning the lottery: we finally get to live in our dream house, we’ll never hate everything in our closet, and we’ll have a garage full of cars! But this isn’t the picture of heaven in the Bible. Heaven is so much more! Those of us who belong to Christ by faith, won’t want the same things. We will be changed! The shame, greed, and pride that enslave us to our current desires will finally be dead! This is such great news because even while we wait in this broken world we can have this taste of heaven now. We can be satisfied with Him now. We can be healed of our broken desires now. We can taste this goodness, now. We can seek His kingdom and His righteousness now.
–CC