My twitter feed opened this morning with this tweet. “On the rare occasion that I am interviewed, I typically try to be academic in my discourse about abuse. Yesterday, I was interviewed and I sobbed. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.’” 

There are wounds that we carry that are not easily healed. Those around us may not know, but we do. More than that, we feel it and given the right trigger, the emotions can overwhelm us once again. Some of those wounds were inflicted on us by others. Some, like illness or the death of a loved one, by life. And still others by our own decisions or sin. The source of the wound does not affect the pain of that wound. 

On those days when our wounds open up again it is worth catching a vision of a day to come when no wound from any source will touch us again. It is the vision of John in Revelation 21 and 22 of a life to come where the old has passed away and the new has come. Here are parts of our future life:

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they and they will be my children.” Revelation 21:1-7.

Think of a day when there is no death, no disease, no wounds that remain unhealed, no conflict, no anxiety, injustice, racism or relational divides. A new day when there is only newness, peace, and the presence of the Lord God Almighty. This is our future if we know Jesus.

On those days when life is overwhelming or sad or when life just hurts, remember that we are not yet in our final home. In that place, there will be everlasting joy, happiness, and healing. No tears, no sorrow, no pain. It is why the Apostle John ends the book of Revelation with these words, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Father, the longer I live the more I look forward to the day when I am finally home and I live in the New Heavens and New Earth. A place where hurt cannot touch me anymore. Where you dry the tears of my eyes and fulfill the longing of my heart. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.