Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

1 August 2024

Reading From II Kings 20-21

“As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.” –II Kings 20:20-21

     In Genesis, when a patriarch such as Abraham died, Scripture says that he was “gathered to his people.”  Here in the second book of Kings, we find that when Hezekiah passed away, the writer so beautifully records that he, “rested with his ancestors.”  To the unbeliever who lives without hope in God or the belief in an afterlife, the physical life from the cradle to the grave is all there is.  What a sad existence. 

     But our faith in God and the revelation of His Word the Bible blesses His sons and daughters with the knowledge that His love and care extend beyond the grave and into eternity.  One day you and I will be gathered to our people and we will rest with our ancestors.  Death is not the end for us, but a dramatic transition.  Our faith will become sight as all pain, chaos, suffering, stress, worry, anxiety, poverty, illness, strife and every horrific side affect of sin melt away and the brilliant light of pure joy, freedom, healing, peace, comfort, strength, trust, hope and love fills our senses.

     As we pass into the New Eden, we will enjoy the fellowship and perfect unity with every brother and sister who has gone before us.  Together with God Himself, we will dwell in harmony as the eternal family of God.  The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 gives us insight into what the other side will be like in that the rich man was very much aware and conscious of who Abraham and Lazarus was and while they were in very different places, the rich man conversed with Abraham.  This tells me that we will recognize and know family and friends in Heaven.

     Another concern that many people have is the status of their relationships in eternity.  Jesus said that we will be neither married nor give in marriage.  Holy matrimony is the deepest relationship possible on Earth, but in Heaven, we will experience relationship deeper and more fulfilling than any we have ever known.  Imagine the closest connection you have ever had with another human.  The relationship you will have with everyone in Heaven will be perfect and therefore richer, stronger and infinitely more satisfying.   

     The Apostle Paul revealed in I Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”  This means that while we live in our present reality, our knowledge is limited by our finite abilities.  But in Heaven, our knowledge will be made complete, just as we are fully known by God.  As His people, we are collectively known as His Bride and our union with Christ will be celebrated at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  Never again will any of us feel alone or excluded.  We will revel in the light of His love forever.

“Lord God, thank You for the brilliant hope we have in the promise of Your soon-coming glorious appearing.  Continue to remove our fear of death by giving us Your eternal perspective on the continuum of the everlasting life You have graciously blessed us with through the death, resurrection and intercession of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  We love You and we worship You, the Living God.  Amen.”

O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;
even so, it is well with my soul.

–“It is Well With My Soul” by Horatio Gates Spafford

In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

–Proverbs 12:28

It is appointed for men once to die and after this the judgment

–Hebrews 9:27

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

–I Peter 1:3-9