The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gives it light,
and the Lamb is its lamp.
Revelation 21:23
This morning I am slow to start.
My husband and I attended two funeral visitations. Thursday evening we will attend yet one more.
I had been meaning to write about Revelation twenty-one verse twenty-three as it pertains to the theme “light.”
Today seemed right.
We can always draw comfort from Scripture. Revelation twenty-one is perfect when you want to imagine what heaven will be like.
As we know as Christians, our days may reach many or God may take us home to be with Jesus with hardly a day lived.
God is the author of life. He is sovereign over the length of our days. We accept that. And yet is hard to deal with the loss that goes with accepting God’s will.
For those who lose a child, a husband or wife just as the retirement years approach, perhaps much sooner, these losses take time and grieving is one hundred percent acceptable.
The Israelites grieved for a certain mourning period. The tearing of their garments, and putting ashes on one’s head, or shaving the head, was customary. As well loud wailing and crying was perfectly acceptable.
Around the world, different cultures practise mourning with differing responses.
As Christians we can glean much from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, on how God’s people grieve. One thing is sure, Jesus cares about our grief. The Bible illustrates this in the shortest verse of the Bible. Jesus wept. We read this in John 11:35.
Another example is the many illustrations given of the loving care of bodies in burial. We see this in the Old Testament with the burial of Sarah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Rebecca and Leah and all the patriarchs and matriarchs in God’s family, in the cave of Machpelah.
We see how Joseph of Arimathea lovingly buried the body of Jesus. In those days, they anointed the body with perfumes and wrapped in special cloths.
All of this shows how Christians care for and love those who have died.
We give great care to the burial of our dear ones.
Yet afterward… we take time to grieve.
And as we grieve, it is vital to focus on Scriptures such as Revelation twenty-one.
There is so much comfort in these words above.
Imagine our loved ones in heaven in the city of our God.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gives it light,
and the Lamb is its lamp.
The LORD is the light. Our God shines more brightly than the sun or moon ever could.
And we will live forever here with our loved ones who have also believed in Jesus as their Saviour and LORD.
This promise fills our hearts with life and light.
We can carry on until the day we bask in the light and love of our God forevermore with our loved ones.
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is its lamp.
Bask in the light of the Lamb today and forevermore with me?
For now, through His Word to us as promises we hold to and cling to.
And one day we too will bask in God’s glory and light forevermore.