Indescribable Joy
Sometimes during the holidays I really miss not having parents to “go home to”, but I love being the parent my kids and grandkids come to for the holidays. Just once in a while I wish I still had parents too! Our last parent died in 2009, but it was several years before that when we stopped having a parent’s home to return to for family get togethers. So, holidays include both joy and a bit of sadness.
Today I read Mark 12:24-25 a new way, “Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.
The Sadducees had asked Jesus what happens when a woman marries, her husband dies and she marries the husband’s brother (and subsequently, several brothers after she loses several husbands!). They wanted to know which man she would be married to in heaven. Jesus responded saying that in heaven they won’t have any need for marriage since they will be like angels in heaven.
I began to think about the angels, and the joy of those in heaven…how indescribable it is. Joy unlike we have ever known on earth. Joy we cannot even imagine. We have many wonderful days on earth, but the best day on earth is nothing compared to the superior joy awaiting us in heaven.
I love what my commentary said about this Mark passage: “He will also establish a future blessedness in heaven not dependent on earthy relationships for maximum fulfillment and joy. ”
Paul’s words in Romans 8:18 are such an encouragement to followers of Christ: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”
And this all because of Christ. We have just celebrated His birth as we reflected on this baby born to Mary and Joseph. His mission: redemption, being the perfect and final sacrificial lamb. And this gift shows us how much we are loved by Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:14, “For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died.” As new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), His love now controls us and urges us to share that love with others. (Continue reading this chapter in 2 Corinthians for more on how we have been reconciled with Christ to become His ambassadors of reconciliation.)
Our purpose on earth is to live for eternity. I am SO grateful for the joy promised in heaven that overshadows any pain and surpasses any earthly joy. What will you and I do this year to share His love this year so others will also know this joy of heaven?
Banner photo by S&B Vonlanthen on Unsplash
