When I was growing up, my parents had a large group of friends they met in Sunday School. They walked through life together, celebrating graduations, weddings, grandbabies, retirements, and milestones. For quite a while, my mom and Mrs. Britton were the only ones left. They both turned 90 last year and they loved talking on the phone and reminiscing. They also shared a love of the Detroit Tigers, often calling each other during and after the games. When Mrs. Britton began to fail a couple months ago, she called my mom and said, “Joanie, I get to see Jesus before you do.” She entered the arms of Jesus a couple weeks later. My mom is now the sole-survivor.
Pondering this, I thought about what that moment was like for Mrs. Britton (and so many other loved ones who are now in heaven)… that moment we fall into the arms of Jesus. In our key verse, David says that it’s joy being in His presence and a pleasure to live with Him forever. So, what will it be like? Of course, I don’t know yet, but Scripture gives us indications. Let’s examine a few things…
In that moment… we will know a love we have never known! Obviously, we have experienced Jesus’ love, but only a little bit. The moment we see Jesus, we will know love because we will be in the presence of pure LOVE. His love will penetrate into the depths of our hearts. His love will bring a security we have never known. We really can’t imagine, can we?
In that moment… we will look into beautiful and radiant eyes! I knew this 6’ 4” man who towered above everyone. But his eyes were the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. I called him BLUE EYES. His eyes sparkled. Well, Jesus’ eyes will be more radiant than any I had ever seen. His eyes looking at us will reveal His deep abiding friendship He has poured out into us. His eyes alone will show us our worth and our value to HIm. We really can’t imagine, can we?
In that moment… we will hear Him speak! What will He say? “Welcome home, my child.” “Oh, how I’ve longed for you to be here with Me.” “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Something tells me though that the most tender moment is when He speaks my name. Mary knew that no one could speak her name quite like Jesus. It was in the midst of her grief outside the tomb where she heard her name and it was in that moment, she recognized the resurrected Jesus. We really can’t imagine, can we?
In that moment… we will be given new bodies! Bodies that will not hurt, bodies that will not get older, bodies without limitations, and bodies perfectly suited for heaven. I think about that moment when my friend, Troy, who was confined to a wheelchair his whole life, received his new body. I used to walk with him down our street as we prayed for the neighbors. I can’t wait to see him walking and running. We may just have to race. I’m thinking that each of us are looking forward to those new bodies. We really can’t imagine, can we?
Sometimes we just need to be encouraged. And I can’t think of anything that encourages me more than to think about the moment I see Jesus. I hope you found these words encouraging as well.