Until I See You Face to Face

"...God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever."

-Revelation 21:3-4

Today I finished reading Revelation. I have a habit of reading through it every few months because I find the whole book to be so fascinating.

What I love most about it, well actually the whole Bible, is that it's never the same when you read it. And what I mean by that is there is always something new to be learned or something that you previously read becomes alive in a different way.

I am always wary of writing about heaven because it's so far beyond my comprehension. It's a beautiful mystery that we will never be able to fully solve with our human minds. Which is actually pretty exciting. But as I was reading the verse above, it just hit me that we are going to live with God. I knew this already, but we get to see Him face to face and dwell with Him. How amazing is that?

Earlier in the week, I was talking with my roommates about those moments in worship where you wish your legs and arms could stretch higher; where you wish you could just do more than your physical limitations. We also talked about how disappointing it is that so many times after worship, all you want to do is dwell in God's presence but then the lights come back on and suddenly everything goes back to "normal". But in heaven, those moments don't go away. We get to spend eternity worshiping God and never leaving His presence.

I think what made it so real to me today was the fact that this week has been a bit rough. There have been moments of pain and heartache. And in those moments, I had the childish desire of just wanting a physical hug from God. It seems silly, but that's what I wanted. I wanted to feel His arms around me, holding me close and reassuring me of His love and faithfulness. I wanted Him here and I wanted to see Him. And not that it's impossible for God to come down and do that, God is God. He can do whatever He wants. But (and I want to choose my words carefully) it's not something that really happens. Which is why I think this verse just soothed all of that pain. Not only does it say "He will wipe all tears from their eyes", but also that "He will make his home among his people". And it's just...wow! You know? We get to live with God. Heaven is where we belong. Our hearts will never be fully satisfied here on earth, because it's not our home. Our home is with God. 

I am seriously in awe but doing a horrible job of putting my thoughts down into words. It's just...in those moments, in those oh so human moments where we feel like we are at our lowest point and are literally on our knees begging God to show Himself, I feel like He is there, holding us and whispering "soon." And I think that sounds a little creepy but that isn't my intention.

It blows my mind that my dad is waiting for me. My Heavenly Father is waiting for me to come home to the place where I belong. And I'm not saying that I am wishing for death, I know my time will come when it comes. It's just...we have a home, where we completely belong, waiting for us. And I find so much beauty and comfort in that knowledge.