What an Inheritance!
Scripture Reading — Revelation 21
“To the thirsty I will give water … from the spring of the water of life… And they will be my children.”
Revelation 21:6-7
It is not wrong to long for a good future. The apostle Paul said that if it is only for this life that we hope in Christ, “we are to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). The story of salvation is not complete until it includes this final piece in which we will inherit precious things from our loving Father.
The picture of our future with God is about great blessing. There will be no tears, hunger, or pain, and the children of God will have an inheritance that boggles the mind. The city will be built of precious gems, and the streets will be paved with gold. This inheritance should not be too “spiritualized.” We will have real bodies, and the inheritance that is set aside for us will be real as well. God is the maker of all material things, and he initially called them good. In the world to come, they will be not merely good but wonderful and glorious.
There is a place prepared for all who hope in God. That place is not a nirvana-like absence of self and things, but a glorious physical reality in which God splurges on us. He endows us with unbelievably good things. Our imaginations can’t even grasp what we are in for. But God’s children can and should look forward to it. Our inheritance is now being set aside for us. Rather than receiving it at the death of a parent, we begin to receive it now, and even more at our own death, and fully when Jesus comes again!
Lord, we look to the day when you will lavish your gifts on us. We know that the first of these is now ours in Christ. Come quickly, Lord! Amen.
About the author — Kent Van Til
Kent Van Til was a missionary in Costa Rica. He taught theological ethics both there and in the USA. He is the author of four books. The most recent is a spiritual biography of his grandmother entitled, "A Name for Herself: A Dutch Immigrant's Story." Kent likes to fish, hunt, make music, and entertain his grandchildren.
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