Anticipation is one of the great joys in life. Looking forward to things we enjoy, or upcoming events, or just seeing an old friend are a great feeling. Actually you can go a long time on just the anticipation of an event. I guess it’s that hopefulness we have of something great in the future.
I not only have memories of great events in my life, but also just remember the anticipation I had for that event. With some of these things I had some kind of expectation because they were things I had already done or events I had already attended. Other things were completely new, and that can make the anticipation even greater.
I remember anticipating trips the most, I guess. When I was about 9 or 10 we made pretty frequent trips to the Minneapolis area. Since both my parents each had a sibling there, my brother and I were able to spend quite a bit of time with our cousins. We would go to Valley Fair or to the lake sometimes. So, that was always fun and something I looked forward to. There were times when I really hated to leave too.
I remember one other trip that I looked forward to as well. When I was in college a couple friends and I planned a trip to go skiing in Colorado. Since my brother lived out there, we were planning to stay with him. Perfect college plan, right? What else would college kids do, pay for a room? Yeah, right. College kids love free. We brought some food along with us, so I don’t think we really stopped to eat much. We just, pretty much, stopped for gas and that’s it. It’s what I would call an interesting trip, too. It seemed to have some similarities to a National Lampoon’s Vacation movie. One of those with Clark Griswold. Only we were in a Ford Festiva. We drove through slush on the roads that ended up freezing and getting stuck to the wheel wells. It got so thick that we had to hack away at it with the ice scraper. I remember breaking the ice scraper on it myself. Oops. We stopped and asked a Wyoming cowboy for directions. He was the real deal, too. He had the accent and all. Am I in a Western movie? I don’t see any cameras. Then I remember driving in really heavy snow as we got close to Denver. And I mean heavy. We could hardly see anything and just about hit the car in front of us. Thankfully we stopped in time, though. Just pump the brakes, right?
You know what’s interesting? We were about as excited on the way there as we were when we got there. Sometimes the anticipation is almost as exciting as the actual event itself. This is the great thing about anticipation. It keeps us going until we get to our destination. Maybe that’s also what helps us stay focused on our destination—the excitement of what’s to come.
…Let’s go deeper—Anticipating the Unkown
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So, what do we have to look forward to if we’ve placed our trust in Jesus and His death on the cross? If you want a good full description of Heaven, Revelation 21 is a good place to start. I don’t know that I can summarize it, so I’ll just include it below:
Revelation 21:10-27 “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was [of] jasper: and the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation [was] jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
That’s quite a description. But even in that description we still won’t know the fullness of it or the fullness of what we will be until we get there. It’s like any trip you’ve ever taken. You can picture it in your mind but it’s always better when you get there and see the real thing. In 1 Corinthians 13:12 it says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” This shows us that we don’t fully know down here the greatness of our future dwelling place or the change that there will be in us. God has given us plenty to be excited about, though.
1John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” This again reiterates for us that we only know in part what we will be, but we will be changed to be like Him. So, what could be greater than that? I think it’s always helpful to keep this in mind—that our goal is to be more like Jesus every day. As we look to Him on a daily basis, the Holy Spirit will help us and guides us through this process.
1 Corinthians 13:12 it says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
1John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”