And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God (Revelation 21:2-3).’
“I long to be with you.” Those are words that could be spoken by lovers who have been separated or a parent who has long been apart from their child. We long to be with the ones we love. Yet each of those longings are mere echoes of our deepest longing to be with the One for whom we were made. That is what makes these words from Revelation 21 so dear.
Drawing on the language of a wedding, John allows us to watch the holy city come down “as a bride adorned for her husband” (more on that later). Then we hear a loud voice from the throne. The voice is loud because what is to be announced is great - namely that God will dwell with us! We will be His people! The intimacy with God is what made Eden truly paradise. And yet it was that intimacy that was lost so long ago.
Our life east of Eden has been defined by being far off from the one for whom we have been made. Through all of history we have been able to know something of Him through a variety of means; but these are all previews of the eventual eternal dwelling of God with His people. One day we will realize that this is the intimacy for which we were always longing.
If you have ever been on a long journey home to be with your family, you can likely remember how the desire to be with them was what allowed you to persist. In a similar way, when we grow weary in this life, let’s be moved to persist by remembering that we are on a journey to go to our true home - a home where we will be with the one for whom we were made.