Written by David and Debbie Meece

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
Revelation 3:21 (NASB)

Imagine God rising from His throne and smiling as He welcomes us into our eternal dwelling place.  Imagine the peace that comes from knowing we will never cry again, never fear again, never hurt again because we are in His presence, at rest in His arms.

For many of us, the image of God as a loving father seems foreign because of the profound rejection we have experienced at the hand of our earthly fathers.  We have been pushed away and told “there are more important things to do” or “there isn’t time for you.”  Although the harsh words may have been spoken years ago, the hurt has remained in our souls.  How we’ve longed to be loved unconditionally!

We are created by God as relational beings, and we yearn for warm fellowship with one another and with Him.  In heaven we will finally enjoy that perfect fellowship as we see and experience the brilliant majesty of our Lord.  His presence will comfort us for eternity.  Our needs will not be an issue, and we will be free to focus on glorifying and serving Him.  There will be no more children longing for a parent’s embrace, no more aching hearts yearning to be loved, and no more hurting souls striving for acceptance.  We will no longer wrestle with our sin nature as we try to live independent of God.

Oh, what an inheritance!  What a blessed promise!  We can rejoice with the apostle Paul who said, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor. 2:9).  And it is the promise of these future blessings that purifies our lives, energizes our obedience and overpowers our demands for instant gratification.  We accept the fact that many of the difficulties we experience may not be resolved in this life because our Father’s purposes transcend our temporal situations if we are willing to wait.

The reward of the one who is patient and faithful will be to reign with the Father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (NASB).’”

Is your heart filled with pain and bitterness?  Does the thought of a heavenly father and eternal kingdom seem distant?  If so, I encourage you to give Him a chance.  Get to know Him by reading His word and building relationships with people who love Him.  Through faith, you too can share the promise of the future.

Ponder your image of God.  Do you have a positive image of God or a negative one tainted by the failures of your earthly father?