No Mourning, No Crying

No Mourning, No Crying

How would you like people to remember you when you’re gone?

How would your life be different today if death didn’t exist? Think of the friends and loved ones you’ve lost.

He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 25:8

Unless you’re very imaginative, heaven is a hard place to picture. Most of what we know about it comes from John’s descriptions in the book of Revelation. And few people would describe them as easy to understand. “A sea of glass glowing with fire” (Revelation 15:2)? “Four living creatures … covered with eyes” (Revelation 4:6)?

Countless Bible scholars have made educated guesses as to what heaven will be like. But no one has any real concrete idea because no one has ever come back from heaven to tell us.

One thing we know for sure is that there will be no death in heaven. When Jesus rose from the grave, he defeated death once and for all. Anyone who believes in him will have life forever in heaven, with no death to end the joy of being forever in God’s presence.

The eternal perspective allows us to look at death—especially the deaths of believers—as a temporary pain. It’s a pain that certainly hurts, but it hurts only for a while. When we get to heaven, we will be free of death forever.

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for assuring us that one day death will be no more. Give us the strength and comfort we need when we lose a friend or loved one. Make us instruments of strength and comfort when other people suffer loss. Amen.