Harp music composed and played by Bill Klein

On the night before He died, the Lord Jesus said, “I will not drink the fruit of the vine again until I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).

Food and drink must therefore have their place in that utterly grace-filled sphere that You have prepared for the redeemed human race where God-belovèd animals will lie down at peace with each other and at ease with us. leaving us free to enjoy whatever rewards and commissions the Lord may choose to apportion as He ushers in the new heaven and the new earth.

When souls saved by Christ fall asleep they emerge from the tent of their bodies and enter the realm of Paradise: a place of parkland rest and refreshment, of blissful reunions with those in Christ whom we have loved, and with those who persevered beyond their trials to the infinitely better resurrection beyond. (Heb. 11:35,38)

Let’s not end the story at what may prove to be but the end of the beginning: the call of God will appoint the meek to return with Christ to reign and rule on Earth.

This is our ultimate calling, and how we respond in life will determine our fitness for service there,

where Beauty personified renews the earth in glory, and so fulfils the prophecies of old. (Hab. 2:14)