The
Bible promises a final chapter to our life in which God restores His creation
to His original plan, tying together all the verses of our lifesong... the good
and the bad... the blessings and the adversity, into an eternal sequel of
incredible beauty, happiness, and fulfillment. In Christ we are radically
changed through salvation, transformation into Christlikeness, and
resurrection... the change accompanying “Flying” or dying. But we will remain
the unique individuals God created with the same history, appearance,
personality, memory, interests, skills, likes/dislikes, etc. There must be
continuity of the uniqueness of the individual for resurrection to be
resurrection... calling into existence a completely new individual is not
resurrection... not bringing back to life the dead.
The
eternal life to come flows out of this smidge of an earth-life, whose adversity
and suffering is not worthy of comparison to the glory our resurrected life
will bring. Man’s eternal glory grows organically out of the adversity we
experience during present day life... just as it did for our Lord: Heavenly
glory is conditioned on earthly suffering... no suffering, no glory! Glory is a
God-word, the true apprehension of God from unending self revelation, a state
of high honor involving brilliant, radiant beauty... measured in watts. God’s
radiant brilliance, His covering and His dwelling place, is a physical manifestation
of His love. Our glory is reflective... the source is always God, but we shall
be like Him, brilliantly beautiful, magnificent, splendid... and aglow.
Isaiah
65:16-17 is often cited as implying saints will not remember their earth-life
in Heaven. Contextually, this passage refers to God choosing not to remember
our former sins (ref. Jer. 31:34). “Remember” is a covenant word that includes
acting upon what comes to mind. Though God will wipe away every salty tear
attached to our earth-life, He will not wipe away our memories, human history,
or His divine intervention into the affairs of mankind. We will never forget
that our sins nailed Jesus to the cross... His nail scared hands and feet will
be a constant reminder, prompting eternal joy and worship of our Savior for His
awesome Grace. And memories of our earth-life suffering will not diminish but
rather enhance the magnificence of God and His heaven. Our memories of
adversity and evil will provide a backdrop to better see God’s grace and
holiness... intensifying our love for Him, just like the Passover served the
children of Israel, contrasting Egypt’s cruel bondage with God’s goodness. We
will enjoy the magnificence of our Lord and the Heaven He has prepared for us,
not merely in spite of all we suffered during earth-life, but, all the more so,
because of our earthly suffering and adversity. Just think, we will enjoy
forever life on the New Earth restored to its finest majesty and splendor... in
perfect prime bodies that never wear out... with a transformed nature fully
Christlike... with our own unique individuality. We will experience unending
joy, unswerving happiness, and complete fulfillment... while continually bathed
in God’s radiant glory. All this, and some still choose the smidge... (Rom. 8:17; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Peter
1:11, 2:20, 4:13, 5:1; Heb. 2:9, 5:8; John 20:24-29; Rev. 6:9-11)
POSTSCRIPT
Our Daddy is bigger,
bigger than... well, there simply are no human words to describe His bigness...
His anything, anywhere, anytime power. I really believe that someday, ages and
ages hence, while hanging around a campstar on a clear millennial night, we
will remember and have a good chuckle about the adversity of earth-life.
Adversity will be only a memory, ban forever in God’s Kingdom... a word that
only has meaning in the past tense... a memory that evokes loving adoration of
our savior. Then, reflecting on God’s goodness and His faithfulness, we... the
general assembly and church of the firstborn will break out in two part harmony
with an innumerable company of Angels singing praise to our Lord....
