A Purifying Hope
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. - (1 John 3:2–3)
Death is the great separator, but Jesus Christ is the Great Reconciler. In heaven, we will be reunited with loved ones. Husbands will be reunited with wives and wives with husbands. Children will be reunited with parents and parents with children. Friends will be reunited with friends. It will be like a big family reunion.
Except with this family reunion, all of the dysfunction will be gone, along with all of the weirdness, problems, and drama. This will be a perfect family reunion as believers are joined together around the throne of God.
One day, you will be going about your business, and suddenly you will find yourself in heaven, face to face with Jesus in your new, glorified body. This could happen in a moment, in a nanosecond. The Bible says that it will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
The word “twinkling” originates from the word atomos, the same term from which we get our English word, “atom.” It is speaking of something that happens so quickly that it cannot really be measured, not even with the blinking of an eye. That is how the return of Christ will be.
So how should this knowledge affect us? If we really believe that Jesus is coming again, it should certainly impact the way that we live and the choices we make. It should impact what we think about, what we spend our time doing, and what we spend our money on. It should affect every aspect of our lives.
In recognition of the fact that God loves us and God has chosen us and God has so much waiting for us in heaven, how should we respond? We should respond with gratitude. And gratitude leads to godliness.
Summary sentence: A heaven-bound perspective leads to a grateful perspective!
Tags: Hope, gratitude, purify
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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You can receive a copy of Hope for America in appreciation for your gift to Harvest Ministries this month. Your support will help keep us on the radio, daily proclaiming the gospel, as well as help Harvest America take place on August 26.
Greg’s latest resource, Hope for America, is written for all believers. It is a roadmap on how our nation can get back to the values that made us strong, and it shows how we can have a spiritual awakening in the nation.
In less than two months, we are holding an event for our secular culture called Harvest America. It is one day, one church, one message. The gospel message will be beamed live from Angel Stadium across the nation.