And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)
I remember moving into my first apartment with my roommate, Hannah, a few years ago. Living with Hannah was totally different than living with my family. I worked 45 minutes away, and we both studied at home most of the time. Though we lived together, we didn’t see one another all that often. My favorite memories in that apartment with Hannah were the nights that we’d sit on the kitchen counters with only the light above the stove on. We would talk like that for hours. It was on those nights that we spent the most quality time together. Living in that apartment showed me that even though we shared a physical space, we were still very separate people.
This passage calls back to a very familiar scene in Exodus, the construction of the tabernacle. The place where God would dwell with His people on Earth. This tabernacle and, eventually, the temple were the designated place to meet with God. These verses not only reflect the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and Christ in the flesh among man, but also point us to a future reality in which God and man exist in the same space.
What strikes me about this in particular is the result of His dwelling. He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and pain and death will be gone. The Lord does not just merely occupy the same space, but His presence transforms everything.
God is not just like a roommate. The distance between Him and us will disappear. The depth of His presence is one that we will only understand when it arrives. May the promise of communion with the Father bring you peace and hope for the future to come.
Kassie Lowe
Young Adults Lead