Some years ago I was asked to tour a hospital. “I see this is your birthing wing,” I said to my tour guide. The dear hospital official smiled indulgently at my remark. “No, Mrs. Briscoe, this is the hospice unit.”
Only a few minutes before, we had begun our tour at the nursery window watching babies smile and gurgle. But now, the atmosphere was vastly different as we gazed upon men and women living on limited time.
“I beg to differ,” I replied. “This is the birthing wing! Here the spirit struggles to be born into the afterlife, as surely as the baby struggles to be born into this life.” The official gave me a strange look, but it led to an interesting conversation with a tour member.
So what happens when we are “birthed” into heaven? What will it be like? What shall we see? There will be light—brilliant, glorious light emanating from the Lamb that will light the home of God. “The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminated the city, and the Lamb is its light” (Rev. 21:23).
The Bible goes on, “Its gates never close at the end of day because there is no night” (Rev. 21:25). Because there is such light and no dark corners in heaven, there will be no dark and secret deeds done. In fact, there will be no wrongdoing at all, forever! This will be a city where righteousness lives.
Because there is light forever, there will also be life forever. Flowers will never fade; leaves will never turn brown. There will be no more death. Every time I go to a funeral, I think, One day I will never have to do this again! There will be no need of medicine because no one will ever get sick. And there will be no more pain. Oh, won’t that be a day to look forward to? Life, eternal life, will take care of all these things!
And there will be no more tears, for “God will wipe away all their tears” (Rev. 7:17). What tears are these and how can they be shed in heaven? That is a mystery. Perhaps they will be fresh on our cheeks as we arrive, crying, from the birthing wing into the rarefied air of our new environment.
Or maybe they will be tears of sorrow because the family circle is broken and loved ones are not there. Whatever those tears are about, God will wipe them away forever. In heaven “He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever” (Rev. 21:4).
In heaven there will be love that lasts. For how long? Beyond eternity. For God is love, and heaven is His domain. Everlasting Love will wrap His eternal arms around us, and so we shall be loved forever!
Adapted and used by permission from Just Between Us.