Greater Than Anything We Can Imagine

Romans 8:25

Matthew 13:16-17

My husband's choice of a picture describing his paradise
(even though the pic doesn't include fishing or football)

We are hoping and waiting for something wonderful! Waiting becomes a drudgery when we lose sight of what it is we are waiting for. Often descriptions of what heaven is imagined to be like can sound...boring... terrible...the opposite of the type of event I enjoy. Sitting on fluffy white clouds strumming a harp for all eternity? That description gives rise to terrible movies and books suggesting a life opposed to God is much more exciting and appealing. Stuffing our faces at an enormous banquet table overflowing with wine and rich food? That sounds like a shadowy imitation of the party the Greek god Dionysus; like the idea wasn't original to the Creator. A giant family reunion crowded with every person throughout history who chosen for God, all trying to interact with each other? I'm a shy and introverted and while I like people and get-togethers I kind of detest the parties and prefer the people in small portions taken only occasionally. Large numbers make me want to hide, and large numbers with absolutely no break for all eternity make me want to flee as quickly as possible.

If I were to add my own individual paradise it would look
more like this...

Yet all these descriptions and others are only glimpses of something far more wonderful than we can even imagine. Because we can't fully imagine it, we can't describe it, so we find ourselves with tales that inflate individual paradises into their greatest extreme, which unfortunately can sound awful to those with other preferences. We need to hold onto the truth that what we are waiting for is wonderful. Like the prophets of old who longed to see the coming of the Messiah, we know He will return for us and we long to be reunited with Him. We long to see Him take His rightful place as King. Although we do not see it yet, we know He is coming for us and we eagerly anticipate eternity with Him.