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Last month, I was on Dr. Lee Warren’s podcast to talk about the eternal Heaven, my new book The Promise of the New Earth, and how an eternal perspective has shaped the grief I’ve experienced since Nanci went to be with Jesus last March. I was happy to talk with Lee about the New Earth because it is rarely spoken of in churches.

The angels must have been stunned to see the second member of the triune God become a human being! The baby of Bethlehem was Creator of the universe, pitching His tent on the humble camping ground of our little planet. God’s glory now dwelt in Christ. He was the Holy of holies. People had only to look at Jesus to see God.

Randy spoke in November with Dr. Lee Warren about the loss of his wife Nanci, walking through grief, and the living hope that we have in Jesus. They talked about all we have to look forward to on the New Earth, where Jesus’ laughter will be the loudest!

As long as we trust our own subjective judgment that ebbs and flows with the current of our culture, we divorce ourselves from God’s eternal and unchanging truth. Once our eyes are opened to the transcendent beauty and freedom of God’s truth, we’ll never be content with anything less.

This is a year of “firsts,” that is, the first of many things without Nanci by my side. These weeks have included three of the very hardest firsts, followed quickly by Christmas and New Year’s.

“Providence” is a word we use frequently in talking about God, but we may not have thought deeply about what it means. Theologian Timothy George defines it as “God’s faithful and effective care and guidance of everything which He has made toward the end which He has chosen.” God’s providence was a deep comfort to both Nanci and me as we faced her cancer.

The Old Testament uses no single word for universe or cosmos. When Genesis 1:1 speaks of God’s creating “the heavens and the earth,” the words are synonymous with what we mean by universe. Heavens refers to the realms above the earth: atmosphere, sun, moon, and stars, and all that’s in outer space. 

This Black Friday, it’s worth reminding ourselves that we are living in an era when we have more material possessions than any generation before us. Compared to Americans living in the 1950s, we have countless more conveniences, including big-screen TVs, microwaves, online shopping, smartphones, and twice as many cars. It’s easy to assume our purchases will automatically lead to greater contentment.

God is the Almighty Judge who brings one person down while exalting another with purposes and timing that only He understands. His creatures may respond to His mysterious ways with bitterness, indifference, or praise. Given these alternatives, I choose praise.

When the gospel is viewed primarily as laying burdens and obligations on people, the Good News gets buried. Burdens and obligations are not good news; good news is about liberation, deliverance, newfound delight, and daily celebration. Sure, duty is real and the gospel calls us to a life of obedience, but it’s glad duty and joyful obedience.

Contrast your investment in “the least of these” with buying an RV, a larger TV, or a high-end vacation, or putting more money into an already ample retirement plan. It’s not that those things are inherently bad; simply consider their temporal nature and the longer lasting, and so eternally beautiful impact of money given to reach the unreached, get clean water to a remote village, or feed hungry children.

Heaven is not going to be about us. It’s first and foremost about God. And everything else we say and think about Heaven should be seen in relationship to Jesus Christ, who every created thing will exalt for all eternity.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth says, “Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, should equal unbridled gratitude.” Far too often, though, it’s our arrogance and ingratitude and complaining spirits that are unbridled.

Certainly God sometimes graciously answers our prayers to relieve our suffering. This too testifies to His greatness, and we should praise Him for answering. But when He answers no, we should recognize that He desires to demonstrate His greater glory. May we then bend our knees and trust His sovereign grace.