The Hope of Heaven: No Pain or Suffering

by David Chadwick Revelation 21:4 says that one day, in heaven, God will wipe every tear from our eyes, "and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Once and for all, pain and suffering go away! No more crying, mourning, physical pain, suffering, or death. No regrets about the past. No fears about the future. In fact, no fears or anxieties at all! We will live in the perfect presence and care of our Creator forever. Fully healed. Fully present with the Father. Fully aware of the victory of Jesus. Fully alive! Studies show that death is the number one fear that people experience and that all other fears come from this fear of death. But for people who have surrendered their lives to Jesus, death becomes powerless. Think about this for a moment: If, because of Jesus, there is no more death, then fear of death holds no power in a Christian's life. If the greatest fear is eradicated because of the Gospel, then all other fears can evaporate as well! Imagine living every day without fear of bodily deterioration and pain. Imagine living in eternity, where we remain the same age forever. Imagine being around our loved ones forever. Imagine a reality where you live forever and never die. That is heaven! Many ask what age we will be in heaven. No one really knows. Some have hypothesized that it will be around 33 years of age, for that is the age Jesus was when he died. Physiologically, this is also the age of peak performance for most athletes. From there on, their careers generally go down. We really don't know! But what we do know is that we will live in a perfect body in a perfect environment where there is no more pain and suffering. Praise God! Because of his great love for the world, he sent Jesus to die for all of our sins and to offer us eternal life, the hope of heaven!