“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2)
As John’s vision of the Lord’s revelation draws to a close, he sees an image of the eternal kingdom, a new creation with images drawn from Genesis 1 and 2 as well as the Old Testament prophets. The eternal Kingdom is the Church, the bride of Christ. She descends from above, from God, indicating that all of the beauty, purity and radiance she possesses is God’s work. We have been saved and sanctified, made holy, we have performed works of righteousness all by His strength and His grace.
The Lord loves and values this Kingdom, His bride. We should as well. Nothing the world values is worth the loss of the glories of heaven. Consequently our citizenship in that heavenly Kingdom is worth infinitely more than all that we strive for in life and all that we hold onto so dearly. Therefore it is worth all of our life, time, effort, sacrifice and suffering. In His kingdom we find peace, joy, solace, comfort, and healing from all the hurts we have endured in this life. We will never want for anything. We will never need to be afraid of anything. The ancients feared the darkness and the sea symbols of evil, chaos, the unknown and all that which was beyond human control. We fear that as well. Yet in the eternal Kingdom there is no darkness, no chaos, nothing to fear. The Lord is in control. The Lord is with us in eternal relationship.