Memory Text: “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’ ” (Matthew 25:21, NKJV).
Alternate Memory Text: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26
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. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold! 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. ‘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.” Rev. 21:1-4.
We cannot really comprehend what the next life is going to be like, because we cannot imagine a world without sin. Sin is in everything we are and interact with—our bodies, our minds, the biological world of nature, the weather, and our mortality which weighs so heavily upon us. We cannot imagine heaven, and we could not adequately convey it even if we could imagine it, because we don’t have the language; sin is in our language, too:
“Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 675.
But it is certainly going to be great, wonderful, fantastic, unbelievably delightful, and energizing.
There will be no more death, and no more eternal parting, because death is swallowed up in victory. There will be eternal youth, beauty, energy, and vitality to pursue the life God originally intended for us.
There will be no more war, because the Prince of Peace reigns without rebellion.
There will be no more murder, no more crime of any kind, and no more law enforcement, because the law of God is written on everyone’s hearts, and sin will never arise again.
There will be no more natural disasters, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, hailstorms, or floods, because all creation is back under the lordship of Jesus Christ, through whom the Father created it.
There will be no more want, no more poverty, no more famine or starvation, but only abundance and plenty for all, because the curse has been taken away, no longer being needed to check man’s sinful nature.
There will be no more traffic accidents or airplane crashes, because we will no longer be subject to the lapses of concentration, carelessness, and negligence we have on earth.
Best of all, in the next life there will be time, unimaginable plenty of time, the one thing that is just as precious and fleeting to the rich of this life as it is to the poor. In the next life, we will have time to do everything we can imagine to do.
There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.
All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar—worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.
And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise. Great Controversy, pp. 677-8.
Even though we cannot really comprehend eternal life in a sin-free universe, we ought to think about it and dwell on it much more often than we do. Scripture tells us that the great heroes of the faith were motivated by heaven, they were looking for that “better country,” that “city whose architect and builder is God.”
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. . . . they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Heb. 11:13-16; 12:2.
This quarter has been about stewardship. Are we investing in this world, or in that better country, “where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal”? Everything in this world is going to burn, and in the next life we will not miss it, so overwhelmed will we be by the joys of God’s sinless heaven, and then the earth made new.
At about the 1:17 mark in Eric Metaxas’ interview with Irish mathematician and Christian apologist John Lennox, Lennox says,
“What will I say when eternity dawns? I’ve often thought of that question, and I think I shall be pretty speechless to start with, and I’ll tell you what I might think, I’ve often thought this when my wife and I . . . and I hope we go together . . . and eternity breaks upon us. I might just say this: ‘do you know, dear, if I’d known that it was going to be like this, I would have invested far more in it.’ Ladies and gentlemen, we are all on a big journey. How tragic it would be not to do what C.S. Lewis did and open that eternal world so that it is even more real in our expectations than this world!”
Where are we investing? What is more real to us, this life or the next? The only investments that will yield a lasting return are investments in eternity.
For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Isa. 65:11.