At every stage of life, we have experiences where we think “I’ll never be able to do that again”.  It might be because we grow up, or because of financial reasons, or maybe because we are not as athletic as we used to be. But as I watched my wife Claudia succumb to the death sentence of “months’ our doctor gave us last February, it became very obvious that the process of death itself is a cruel, unrelenting task master of “never again” experiences. There were many, but let me focus on walking. CJ loved to walk! After that horrible diagnosis, she was still able to walk back in the woods behind our house for about 1 ½ miles in 3 inches of snow. When the snow melted, we took shorter walks on the hilly roads near us, and she would pick up rocks and label them the 1 hill, 2 hill, or 2 hill + rocks. We prayed for healing, and her goal was to get stronger and return them all as she healed. She returned the 1 hill rock, but the other 2 are still in our dining room. In spring, we returned to Ludington, our favorite Lake Michigan destination. She was able to walk out to the lighthouse, a substantial distance. A month later, she could only go about 1/5 the distance. On our last anniversary, July 22^nd, we returned to Ludington, and our kids surprised us by all being at the Ludington beach. CJ was able to make it down to the water’s edge and we had a wonderful celebration for about 1 ½ hours. But we never went to Ludington again. At home, walking was reduced to 3 houses down the street, then a slow walk around the house outside, then inside only. She could no longer climb the stairs to our bedroom, and I realized I would never again sleep in the same bed with my wife. Her last month she needed a walker, and struggled to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom to the living room, about 30 feet total. On her last Sunday, we moved the hospital bed to the living room because she could no longer walk to the bathroom or bedroom. Two days before she died, 2 women friends and I struggled to get her 5 feet from the sofa to the bed, where she stayed and died 2 days later.

I say all of this not so you will feel sorry for me or CJ! Everyone, especially near death, goes through these “never again” experiences. It can make you question God, ask “Why me?”, get angry at cancer and the seeming unfairness of life. We had our share of those thoughts!  But what I really want you to know is that these “never again” experiences are actually NOT TRUE!!

What gave CJ and me hope and strength to go forward is the promise that we, like Jesus, will be resurrected and live forever with God in a redeemed and restored earth! Yes, CJ ‘s body  is gone and she will never again walk in this phase of life. But the entire message of the Bible is that God originally  intended us to live forever with him and never die, and eventually , for those who trust in Jesus, he will reverse the course of sin and restore us to that original plan, giving us new bodies that will never get sick or die!

What does that mean?

1) Heaven, in the final phase, will be back here on earth as Jesus renews and restores this world to become the New Earth and the New Heaven combined! And God himself will dwell with us forever!

Matthew 19:28 says, “At the RENEWAL of all things, when the son of man sits on  his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones ,judging the 12 tribes of Israel.”

This future Heaven and New Earth is described in Revelation 21: 1-5:

¹  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ⁵  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

2) CJ and all other believers in God who have died are now in an “intermediate” version of Heaven, with God, and it’s amazing! No, we do NOT become angels!  Angels are a separate part of creation, but we are human beings, made in the very image of God, and we will always be human beings. We don’t get our resurrection bodies until Jesus returns to judge and destroy all evil, restoring the earth   to what it was meant to be originally.  Then all believers will get new bodies and live in God’s presence forever!

3) In this New Earth and New Heaven, all the pain, suffering, and “never agains” of this sinful world will be reversed, and we will live as we were meant to live, abundantly, joyfully, and with God all the time!

In his book “Heaven”, Randy Alcorn describes what won’t be in Heaven:

“No death, no suffering, no funeral homes, abortion clinics, or psychiatric wards. No rape, missing children, or drug rehab centers. No bigotry, no muggings or killings. No wars, no unemployment. No handicaps, no cancer, no taxes, no bills, no weeds, no bombs, no drunkenness, no traffic jams and accidents. No unwanted emails. Close friendships but no cliques, laughter but no put downs. Intimacy, but no temptation to immorality.  No hidden agendas, no backroom deals, no betrayals.

Imagine mealtimes full of stories, laughter, and joy, without fear of insensitivity, anger, gossip, hurt feelings, or anything that eclipses joy…  We won’t need to be drawn into God’s presence, because that is where we will live, constantly and consciously. We’ll thank God profoundly, and worship and praise him together, whether we’re working in a garden, singing, riding bikes, or drinking coffee.”

In John 11:25-26, it says,
²⁵  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

That’s the key question we each have to answer! Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God?

 If so, Jesus says that even though we die now, we will live again and never die!

I believe that is true, for CJ and for me!

I can attest that watching your spouse or any loved one die is horrible! I have been slowly grieving the loss of my wife for 9 months now, watching all these seemingly “never again” milestones take place.  

But I ALSO know that death is not the final word! Not only do I KNOW that CJ is alive with God now, but that she will someday return to a new earth where I will see her again, and we will both have amazing new bodies. Interestingly, we will not be married in this new Heaven, so we will be wonderful, amazingly close friends, more like brother and sister in Jesus. And I can picture her picking up a new guitar, and with her amazing restored voice, she will lead some of us in brand new worship songs she learned in Heaven. And, not only will she walk again, but she will walk amazing trails with Jesus, with me, and with you, and we will all do this over and over again and   it will never be boring! (And, personally, I hope there are golf courses and I can eventually get better at it!)

So, please pray for me my friends. Pray that God would heal my broken heart and bring his peace and even joy to me, and that I will keep my eyes focused on the amazing Hope that lies before us!  And I will pray for you as well, that you would have this same unbreakable, everlasting hope and joy. Live in faith and hope, without fear!

Not only is everything going to be OK in the future. It’s going to be amazing! God bless you all!