The Limited Beauties of Earth and the Eternal Beauty of God’s Realm

When you view the beauties of earth, what do you think about? Maybe you live in an area of the earth that is not known for physical attractiveness. Maybe you dwell where there are manifold negatives. What does this mean to you?

Wherever we happen to live, we know that there is beauty and there is ugliness. I’ve had the opportunity to see some proverbial “beauty spots” in America when I was younger and I did a lot of traveling. I’ve seen the beauty of the New England coast, the beauty of the Virginia mountains and farmlands, the great expanse of the Pennsylvania heartland, the coast of Oregon and Washington.  Like you, I’ve also seen photographs of scenery in travel magazines and videos. If you are similar, you rejoice in these natural beauty spots and even want more.

But think about this: If you live in the mountains of North Carolina, you can’t live along the coast of Maine. If you live in the rich farmlands of Pennsylvania, you can’t live along the California coast. If you live in the Tennessee mountains, you can’t live in the verdant portions of Miami. We could go on. Think of the natural beauty of France, the splendor of Germany, or the fjords of Norway. Think of the natural sights of the Far East, or Africa, or South America, or the islands of the world.

We drink in the natural sights that we see in books, in magazines, on the TV, or in person—but still there are places to see. We also are aware that all of this takes money—and much of it. Traveling does cost much. And generally, even if we are willing to spend money for travel, we only have one or two short vacations a year. And then it is over.

What can we think of these facts? The carnal soul may lament that we only have one lifetime to see the beauties, feel the breezes, taste the delicacies of favorite places of the earth. These “get aways” were meant to give merely a break from the drudgery of daily life. And then it is all over. Or it may be that you become fifty or sixty, seventy or eighty, and you can’t see more, travel more, or do more. If our focus is on earthly matters, we may feel as though we have “missed it” or that life has passed us by. We just can’t visit enough places. We don’t have the money for more travel. We can’t live in all places of the world at once. If we look at things only as the world does, it will let us down!

Did you also know that there are millions, no, billions, of people on earth who are exposed to lavish scenes of California, Hawaii, Florida, and elsewhere and they somehow mistakenly think that this is the way that all Americans live. What we say about America could also be said of  many other places on earth. No, not at all. The average American can’t afford the $1 million homes in California or the estates of other American beauty spots.

Not every place has wonderful year-around weather! California offers earth quakes and fire storms. The northern latitudes offer snow storms and blizzards, the middle of the country brings the threat of tornadoes, Florida and the southern states bring the possibility of hurricanes, and places in the south bring burning heat in the summer months.

If this is true of the Unites States, it is also true of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, Australia, and the islands. We just can’t move to a certain location for the sake of the weather, the climate, the topography, or the peace. There will be negatives wherever we may find our escape!

What does this do to your thinking when we speak of such things? If your focus is on this world and this life, you may find your heart weighed down with a sense of futility. But what if there is life after death? What if there is a glorious kingdom of exquisite beauty coming? What if the whole world order were to be changed? What if beauty, abundance, perfect health, youth, and absolute peace were yours? The description of this earth would be cast away in disgust for we would see that this is merely a diversion from what should occupy our mind!

While we live here, we must face the limitations of this life and this earth. As God said after the world-wide flood:

While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

And cold and heat,

And summer and winter,

And day and night

Shall not cease

(Genesis 8:22)

But this is not the final promise of God. He says that there is a bright new day coming!

 

The world to come will be filled with praise of God, love of Jesus, fellowship with the angels, and sweet fellowship with perfect and sinless brothers and sisters! Scripture describes this perfect realm in this way: “They will hunger no more, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).

We read further: “God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3b-4). Can you imagine a place where there will no longer be sickness, sorrow, or death? A place where the sirens of the ambulance will not be heard. A place where there will be no hurricanes, earthquakes, snow storms or fire storms, unbearable heat or piercing cold?

Friend, I know that many of you, as readers, cannot imagine such a sphere. It is so different from our personal experience. But the sorrows of this life will last only ninety or a hundred years and then we will die and our bodies will disintegrate. But the day is coming when perfect health in a perfect environment will be given to us! And it will not last for a hundred years or even a thousand years. It will be forever! It will be for all eternity! With the blessed fellowship of God our Creator and Father, and Jesus Christ our living Lord, and holy angels, and perfect, sinless children of God!

Wouldn’t you like to experience this perfection? It can be yours. But know this: Only a very small number of people will be granted this eternal gift! As Jesus our Lord said, the majority are on the broad way that leads to destruction! Only the few are on the narrow way that leads to eternal life with God (Matthew 7:13-14). Won’t you humble yourself and submit to His Lordship and trust in His grace today? There is no other way!

(Hopefully you will be motivated to seek out other articles on this website and discover for yourself how you may be granted God’s welcome into His perfect realm of joy, love, peace, and beauty! www.Truediscipleship.com)

(Note: We realize that not all of our photos are accurate. We understand that there will be no night in God’s realm (Revelation 21:25; 22:5) and no sun (Revelation 21:23). There may be many other drastic changes. Whatever they may be, this will be for our good (Romans 8:28).)