“As a believer in Jesus, your spirit lives on forever in your heavenly body.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 17, 2043
But someone may ask, “How will the dead be brought back to life again? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! You will find the answer in your own garden! When you put a seed into the ground it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it “dies” first. And when the green shoot comes up out of the seed, it is very different from the seed you first planted. For all you put into the ground is a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting, then God gives it a beautiful new body—just the kind he wants it to have; a different kind of plant grows from each kind of seed. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, TLB
My friend is facing death. The doctor said it could be two hours, two days, or two weeks. Shock and awe filled us all as my mentor for 30 years faced his final few days before going to his eternal home with God. A blend of family and friends, about ten of us gathered at my friend’s home to sit together in what became a sacred moment as we wept, laughed, comforted, and celebrated a life lived with intentionality for the Lord’s priorities: faith, family, generosity, and love. Like Paul (Acts 20:34-38), who prayed and wept with and comforted those who loved him right before he left on his last assignment for the Lord, which eventually led to imprisonment and death…Charlie comforted us with words of peace, blessing, and gratitude. We were there to comfort him, yet the Holy Spirit breathed life-giving words through His beloved son to bless us!
Another God moment in our sacred gathering was a question about how we would look in heaven. What will our bodies be like? What age will we be… 33, the age of Jesus when He died? Will children who have died be grown or still a child in heaven? Our Pastor Andy shared helpful words penned by Paul, who describes our bodies as a seed in our opening Scripture. All seeds are unique; some grow into trees, others flowers, some vegetables, the list goes on, and the varietals within each group are diverse. Yet, all are seeds. And all have to be buried and die to come alive. So, with blurred eyes of faith, we can imagine our bodies as a unique shriveled seed going back to the dust of the earth where we came to come alive with God with beautiful, glorified bodies. You will be you, no one else like you, as your spirit within your earthly body will live on forever in your heavenly body. God’s Word gives us a glimpse into our beautiful, wonderful bodies.
The “body is sown perishable and is raised imperishable, sown in dishonor, raised in glory, sown in weakness, raised in power, sown natural, raised spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). The beauty and brightness of our heavenly bodies will be attractive to the eye and energizing to all. Like a caterpillar bursting forth from its chrysalis, so we will fly out of our graves to be with the Lord in beauty and splendor, with the likeness of our Savior Jesus Christ. Are our bodies like Jesus? Indeed, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21). Heaven is shrouded in the splendor of our glorified bodies, and in the process, we will be transformed by our Eternal Lover to be like Him and to be with Him. Uniquely you, just as there are no other human beings just like you, from your fingerprints to your complex genetic design. Your earthly body must die to come alive by the transforming power and love of God.
As we finished up our sacred gathering with tears, hugs, and forced smiles…a tinge of jealousy stuck its head out of my heart, reminding me, “My good friend will soon be with our best friend.” I can celebrate an 81-year life lived with love, generosity, and kingdom purpose, which is a life that is now dying the same. Charlie is facing death as he has lived. Death is defeated; the true enemy is a life unprepared for death. Will you prepare to meet your God with repentance and faith in Jesus? When you prepare to meet the Lord, you can know and be assured that…
“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your promises to give me a unique body in heaven that looks and acts like Jesus through Christ’s love and in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Application
What preparations do you need to make spiritually and practically to bring clarity and comfort to your family and those who love you?
Related Reading
Matthew 10:28; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:49; Colossians 3:4; 1 John 3:9
Worship Resource
We The Kingdom: Mine
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