I often wonder what all of eternity will be like.
No sorrow, no mourning, no lack of anything good and absolutely nothing marred by sin. I'm fairly certain eternity won't involve clouds and harps.
I also wonder, though, about longing and satisfaction. The two must go together, for how do you know what satisfaction is if you don't experience a longing, a need that must be filled? Will we hunger in heaven and have the satisfaction of being filled? Will we have desires and then see them met?
Maybe all of this life contains enough longing and unfulfilled desire to meet heaven with. All our perceived and actual needs, all the trials of life and mistakes and injustices, maybe they're all righted in heaven and that leads to eternal satisfaction, without the need for any more longing.
Even in my dreams there is injustice I long to see righted.
So what will satisfy a soul for all eternity?
I heard Ken Wytsma speak earlier this month and he said that our folly is in trying to make God less mysterious. Trying to package Him all up tidy and make everything spiritual be logical and easily reasoned and explained, so that we don't' have to take any leaps of faith.
He talked about Abraham, trying to explain to Sarah where he was taking their son Isaac on the morning of the sacrifice. He concluded that Abraham came to a place we all need to come to: a place where we throw ourselves out there simply with the belief that God is good, and that's enough for us.
God is good, and that's enough for me.
A good God would not make an eternally-boring eternity for His children, harps and clouds and dull sweetness ad nauseam. He made this life, for heaven's sake, and there are boring people but nothing boring about living.
Jesus is speaking in John 17, red letters bleeding before the sacrifice, pouring out desire and longing before the Father Who was leading Him to the cross. Pouring out desire to a good God and completely satisfied with His goodness, even on the eve of intense struggle. He endured for the joy set before Him.
If any struggle on earth ever was enough to satisfy a soul for eternity, this was it.
While we seek to make God less mysterious here on earth, this sphere He created and we have yet to fully understand, He continues to allow those who will to search Him out.
And He's given us all eternity to know Him more.
This is eternal life. Spend forever, because you'll need that long, to know Me and My son and fellowship with us and search us out. Let Me be your desire and your satisfaction. Forever.
Go ahead and start now.
Linking up with Grace Laced Mondays, The Mom Initiative, Soli Deo Gloria,Titus 2sdays,MercyInk, The Wellspring and #TellHisStory