ARE YOU HEADING TOWARD THAT CITY?

 

     My question for today is, “Are you heading toward that city?” You might ask, “What city?” I’ll explain.
     I’ve been a born-again Christian for 48 years, but I've only gained some understanding of the Book of Revelation in the last 2 years or so. A preacher once told me his opinion that Revelation was one of the least essential books in the Bible, along with Genesis. I was astonished that he held such a view.
     A theologian, I am not—and I have never studied Revelation extensively, or even Genesis, until the last two years. But I still believed that Revelation was a critical book of the Bible. Genesis tells the beginning of the story of God and his relationship with mankind, and Revelation reveals the climax of the spellbinding story.
     I’m more of a feeling person. But, I think the Bible proves that God is a feeling God. After all, in John 11:35, when Jesus saw Mary weep over her brother Lazarus, who had died, Jesus also wept at the emotion she felt. I cry at movies and television shows with both sad and happy endings. I think it’s how many of us are. I think it’s how God is.
     We can’t all carry a complete understanding of theology, but we can all have a sense of awe when reading the story that surpasses all others in history. One movie title aptly states it. The title is “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” And I believe that the last two chapters of Revelation reveal “the greatest ending of a story ever told”.
     Who can imagine a pure and untarnished city coming down from the new heaven called “New Jerusalem”? And that its streets are made of pure gold that looks like clear glass? A city that has twelve foundations of precious stones and twelve gates, each made of a single pearl? A city where there will be no more death and sorrow, and where there’s a healing River of Life flowing down the middle of it?
     In this city, each believer will have a “mansion,” as Jesus described in John 14:2? I may not have a mansion on this earth, but I surely will have one on the next earth!
     Then comes the best part—Jesus and God will be there with us for the rest of eternity. That’s over a billion trillion years of pure joy!
     I’m heading toward that city. How about you?