Philippians 3:20 – 21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
The idea of a glorified body is almost too much for my mind to comprehend. Two dear friends of mine, Susanne and Kathy, are science-fiction/fantasy writers, and perhaps they would be better qualified to write about this than I am. But I am going to give it a try.
Right now, our bodies are lowly. That doesn’t mean we should dislike our bodies. To the contrary – I am grateful that I can walk, talk, and function as I need to. But our bodies are imperfect. We feel pain, we are clumsy, we are susceptible to disease and illness. We can only be at one place at a time. We are limited by our physical bodies.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He had a glorified body. He was not confined by time or space. His body had miraculously healed itself from the most horrendous of wounds. He could disappear and reappear. He could walk through walls when the door was locked. He could ascend into the sky.
Jesus is the rightful ruler of everything in heaven and earth. Right now, for a little while, he has given us free will, and has not exercised His full control over creation. But one day soon, He will return, and use His power to claim His rightful ownership, His rightful control over everything! When that happens, He will make us like Him!
Can you imagine it? All of the aches and pains will just heal themselves right up! All sickness and disease – gone! Now, we see, smell, taste, hear, and feel things, but on that day our senses will be gloriously enhanced to perfection. Now, we are limited by time and space, but then we will be able to be wherever He wants us to be, whenever He wants us to be there.
I can picture myself in Oklahoma, visiting with my friend Eileen. Then, my Lord will say, “Renae, go see what Judi is doing.” So, poof, I will be in Oregon! Perhaps he will send you to Asia, to do His bidding, or to Africa, or best of all, to Texas! No wonder Paul encourages us to keep our minds on heavenly things, to forget the past and press on to what lies ahead. We have so much to look forward to!
1 Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Dear Father, Thank You for the body I have now, imperfect as it is. Thank You for the hope of a perfect body, and thank You for the wonderful things I know You have in store.
Amen
ok, this is what really gets me excited! not only a perfect body (finally! 🙂 ), but a perfect world, perfect relationships, perfect and pure motives and ambitions–wow! too much to imagine–i can’t wait. by the way, i probably won’t still be living in oklahoma! 🙂 i’ll look forward to visiting you whatever my address is!