This is the cross on Wesley UMC. I like to think it is reaching up to the heavens carrying prayers to our savior.
In our study on Heaven we had discussion on what will Heaven be like. Will it be clouds and harps? Will it be peaceful? Will it be boring? Will there be something for us to do? Will we be in physical bodies? Will we be spiritual beings? Lots of other questions were asked and some were answered based on the book “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. Here is an excerpt from that book that gives us some answers:
In Genesis 3, the earth’s first radical transition (mankind’s fall and first judgment) can be seen as one bookend of human history. In Revelation 20, we see the second bookend in the earth’s last radical transition (Christ’s return and last judgment), creating a picture of great symmetry. In Genesis, God plants the Garden on Earth; in Revelation, he brings down the New Jerusalem, with a garden at its center, to the New Earth. In Eden, there’s no sin, death, or Curse; on the New Earth, there’s no more sin, death, or Curse. In Genesis, the Redeemer is promised; in Revelation, the Redeemer returns. Genesis tells the story of Paradise lost; Revelation tells the story of Paradise regained. In Genesis, humanity’s stewardship is squandered; in Revelation, humanity’s stewardship is triumphant, empowered by the human and divine King Jesus. These parallels are too remarkable to be anything but deliberate. These mirror images demonstrate the perfect symmetry of God’s plan. We live in the in-between time, hearing echoes of Eden and the approaching footfalls of the New Earth. Paul Marshall concludes, “This world is our home: we are made to live here. It has been devastated by sin, but God plans to put it right. Hence, we look forward with joy to newly restored bodies and to living in a newly restored heaven and earth. We can love this world because it is God’s, and it will be healed, becoming at last what God intended from the beginning.”72 The earth matters, our bodies matter, animals and trees matter, matter matters, because God created them and intends them to manifest his glory. And as we’ll see in the following chapters, the God who created them has not given up on them any more than he has given up on us.
A new earth that has perfect everything. Perfect grass, water, air, dirt, animals, humans, sky, wind, temperature, hair, skin, society and okay I snuck that perfect hair in there to see if you were paying attention but why not perfect hair. Well we may not know based on scripture exactly what everything will be like but we can say that it is going to be three gasp good. That’s oh, oooh, oooooh, my goodness (I know it is completely understated) and I am looking forward to the moment when I am able to meet my savior in our eternal home. Have a great evening, morning and week. Remember that it is all about the savior we know and the life we lead.
Randy
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 