Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
(1 John 3.2)
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. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 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. 4 ‘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.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21.1-5)
“Celestial Guesswork” by C. S. Lewis
I don’t say the Resurrection of the body will happen all at once. It may well be that this part of us sleeps in death and the intellectual soul is sent to Lenten lands where she fasts in naked spirituality . . . My hope is that we shall return and reassume the wealth we laid down.
Then, the new earth and sky, the same, yet not the same as these, will rise in us as we have risen in Christ. And once again, after who knows what aeons of silence and the dark, the birds will sing out and the waters flow, and lights and shadows move across the hills and the faces of our friends laugh upon us with amazed recognition
Guesses, of course, only guesses. If they are not true, something better will be! For we know that we shall be made like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Prayer: Lord, you did what terrifies us, and won our redemption. Strengthen our hearts to do what we have to do. By your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. Amen.