In Colossians 3:4, we are given a beautiful promise from the apostle Paul: “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” One of the most beautiful promises that God has made to us is the promise of heaven. Right now, our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). But one day, we will appear with Jesus in glory. Can we pause and dream about that for a moment?
There will be a glorious resurrection. On the day when Jesus descends “from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God,” “the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). Jesus Christ will return. I do not know when that day will come, but I do know this: it will be the greatest day this earth has ever seen. On that day, we will see our Lord’s face. From that moment on, we will be with Him forever.
There will be a glorious transformation. When we meet Jesus on the resurrection day, our bodies will be transformed. Our weak, frail, perishable bodies will be changed into powerful, glorious, eternal, spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42–44). Our bodies will be made like Jesus’ body. He “will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21). The very power that subjects all creation to Christ will also transform us to be like Him. When Jesus appears and we see Him as He is, we will be made like Him (1 John 3:2).
There will be a glorious judgment. After Jesus returns, He will sit on His glorious throne (Matthew 25:31). As 2 Corinthians 5:10 reminds us: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” For the unbeliever, this should be a fearful warning: one day you will stand before Jesus unprepared. But for the believer, these words should be music to your ears. One day, it will be just you and Jesus. He will look at you, and you will look at Him. Because of your response to His grace through faith, as you fall to your knees before Him, He will say: “Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Come and spend eternity with Me.”
There will be a glorious eternity. A glorious resurrection, transformation, and judgment will lead directly into a glorious eternity in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. There will be no hunger, thirst, or scorching heat (Revelation 7:16). There will be no mourning, crying, or pain; God Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). Heaven is heaven because God will dwell with His people (Revelation 21:3). It will be the place where we join the host of angels and the redeemed from every nation and generation, falling in worship before the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 7:9–12). If we had to sum it all up in just a few words, we could simply say: it “is far better” (Philippians 1:23). Life is hard. This world is broken. But one day, we will depart and be with Christ, and that will be far better.
For now, let us “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Let us set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2). Let us remember that this world is not our home as we “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
-Tyler Alverson
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