He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall be there mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And He Who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new. " Also He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Revelation 21:4-5, ESV

Have you ever had a dream that was so real and so vivid and so terrible, that when you woke up you were beside yourself with relief and happiness because it was just a dream? I think most of us have. Conversely, we have all had times that were so terrible that we thought, "surely this is a bad dream, and I will wake up soon", only to have the realization that it was no dream, but reality.

I have had a number of such occasions, and some of the realities have not been pleasant to deal with. I think back to a time when I was 17. I had a brand new license and I was ready to drive. I wanted to run down to the local K-Mart and get a record, so I asked my Dad if I could take the car. We had two at the time. One was a '68 Plymouth Fury III that I had experienced my own personal nightmare with some 9 years earlier when I was only eight.

The other was a brand new 1977 Chrysler Cordova. It had a maroon exterior and fine Corinthian leather seats. My older brother thought it unwise, but my Dad thought I would be okay in the new car. We both came to wish that we had listened to my brother.

When I got back from K-Mart, the brand new car had a brand newer dent and a messed up bumper. I had been oh so careful in my driving, but when I got to the parking lot I had someone right on my tail and I panicked. I tried to squeeze into the parking spot but hit an old pickup with an even older, welded on bumper that was in the adjacent parking spot. I hit it so hard that it rolled into the vehicle parked in front of it. I won't go into further detail, but perhaps you can imagine the rest. 

Then I had to drive home.

It was one of those occasions where you find yourself in a situation that you just know has to be a nightmare from which you will soon awaken, but this was not one of those times. When I got home, my brother was kind of horrified, and maybe even a little bit delighted. His wise advice should have been listened to. If memory serves me correctly, he was waiting outside to see if I had done anything to the car, and when he saw, he ran in to tell our Dad. I just waited, wishing I were dead and more than a little afraid that my wish might soon some true.

But when Dad came out, I was pleasantly surprised - shocked might be a better phrase, for he looked at the car and said something like accidents happen. He then even took part responsibility for sending me out at night (did I mention it was night) and unprepared. It probably took a while to register that I was not going to die. Now, don't get me wrong, there were still reparations that had to be made, but this was one of those times that called for a fine rather than the guillotine and I was forever grateful. It was one of those times in your life that you realize how much you love your parents, and how much they love you.

Now, think about some of your nightmare situations. Some of them have involved events that were far more serious than a fender bender. Some have involved serious health scares, and some may have even involved the death of a loved one. There have been other moments when the time to pay for our sins came due, and the cost was seemingly unbearable. Whatever the particulars of your situation, you know that you wished you could just shut your eyes and wake up later to find out that it was only a dream, that everything was okay.

We know that this does not happen much in real life, but it will happen to all of us, someday. For there will be a day when we are called before God on Judgment to receive what is due us. Some of us have pretty big bills that we are certain must be repaid. But imagine going before your Father, who loves you, and hearing the words that He has made everything new. Imagine Christ wiping away every tear from our eyes. Imagine all of those times that we went through that we wished could be changed, and then understand that He has indeed changed them. In fact, He has made everything new again!

This is what is in store for those who are in Christ. This is what awaits, though none of us deserve it, for those who have had their sins washed away and then have been faithful to God. It's too unreal to even imagine for us now, but it will happen someday for the faithful. It will be like the time when I went before my earthly father expecting the worst. only to find that his mercy was only exceeded by his love for his son. It will be the same on that day, only far better than we can imagine. And though I cannot even begin to comprehend this great gift of renewal, I am looking forward to it. How about you?