Our Eternal Home by Jon Opgenorth

Our Eternal Home January 15, 2019 Read: Revelation 21:1-4 The dwelling place of God is with man. (v. 3) In a wedding ceremony, why does the congregation stand with all attention given to the bride’s walk toward her husband? It’s not just tradition. Christian weddings act out the drama of Revelation 21, with the church as the bride of Christ and Jesus as the groom. Moreover, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and “gave himself up for her . . . [to] present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27). When the age to come begins, the first thing we see is the church prepared for God the way a bride descends the aisle. Because death and pain and mourning and all effects of sin are gone forever by the blood of Jesus, in the resurrection we will at last stand sanctified in God’s presence. Even more stunning are the words, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them” (v. 3). Finally, our deepest longing for which we were created becomes reality! In Psalm 27:4, David makes his one request, “that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life.” In the end, not only will our longing to dwell with God be fulfilled, but also God’s longing to dwell with us in perfect unity. What began in a garden with night and day ends in a city and we will be our eternal home. Even so, come Lord Jesus! —Jon Opgenorth As you pray, thank God for his promise to gather us to our eternal home.