Today is World Freedom Day.
This special day is an observance of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall—the vast and terrible wall of barbed wire, concrete, and watch towers separating East from West Germany, dividing friends and family members from 1961–1989.
I can’t even imagine the feeling of being separated from loved ones for 28 long years. That’s longer than I’ve been alive. I can’t even imagine the feeling of seeing that vast and terrible wall finally come crashing down—of being reunited with loved ones at long last or being filled with grief over loved ones lost.
Then again, maybe I can understand some of that longing in some small way.
I have friends and family who’ve gone home to heaven—people I haven’t seen in years. Loved ones whom I miss dearly with all my heart. Loved ones whom I cannot wait to see again.
I’m willing to bet that you do too.
The apostle John knew something of that longing.
In his exile on the island of Patmos near the end of his life, John was cut off from his dear friends and family—separated by the vast Aegean Sea. Not only that but also many of John’s loved ones had gone home to heaven ahead of him.
Tradition tells us that John was the only apostle not to receive a martyr’s death for his profession of faith in his Savior, Jesus.
And yet John held on to the unwavering sure and certain hope that he would see his loved ones again. He was sustained by the unbreakable promises of his God—promises that the Holy Spirit inspired him to write down.
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
“These [words] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
One more, dear Christian.
In his grace and wisdom, God allowed the apostle John to see a vision of a new heaven and a new earth, written down in Revelation chapter 21. How beautiful the sight to an old man longing to be reunited with his loved ones, to be able to write:
“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” (Revelation 21:1, emphasis added).
This is what we long for—to hear the loud voice that says, “Look! God’s dwelling is with his people. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.”
We long for that day—and we know it will come to pass. All because of our loving God who bore the punishment for our sins in our place and cried out from the cross, “It is finished!”
And it is finished. Know that. The vast and terrible sins separating us from our God have been ripped away. There is nothing keeping us from him. Dear Christian, we will be reunited with loved ones. We will see our God face-to-face.
If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, Purposeful Grieving provides you with devotions that recognize the challenges of grief and also lift your eyes to the comforting cross of Christ. Cling to Christ. He is our comfort in all things.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.