We asked commenters on my Facebook page,
“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). What excites you most about living on the New Earth?
Wow, the responses were so great. Here are a number of them, and I hope they encourage you to anticipate our eternal home:
No more heart attacks, widowhood, teenage boys having to deal with losing their Dad right before Christmas (that was me 50 years ago this December), cancer, war, Alzheimer's, sin, no more death! But better than those awesome future realities is that we will be forever in the presence of our Lord who suffered and died that we might experience those promises!
Being able to go to places like the equivalent of Mt. Everest or the Amazon, or deep-sea diving without fear or hazards. Being able to hear the stories of all the people as they tell how they came to Christ and walked through life with Christ. Seeing the throne of God. Singing. Visiting other galaxies.
I’m most excited about being free of my sinful self. I can’t even imagine what that will be like. No wrong thoughts, emotions, motives, no more selfish desires, demands, or dreams. Truly it will be Heaven to be completely focused on Jesus and all that is right and good and pure and glorifying. Come Lord Jesus, come!!!
Seeing my God face to face…meeting the great cloud of witnesses, a long walk and talk with my late husband, seeing friends and family that have gone before, meeting my aborted children, hiking without the fear of grizzlies or bad people, my new house, no arthritis any longer. OH MY, I could go on and on. What a future we have.
I look forward to seeing Jesus! My son that I lost at 10 years old and his dad that I lost three years later. And actually, just seeing well because I have been legally blind for years!
“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!” C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7)
Reading all these comments is such a blessing, knowing there are so many who are in love with Him. Can’t wait to be with you all on the New Earth!
Seeing our Savior, having no more cancer, and spending eternity with loved ones! Also being able to travel to places I didn’t get to see before!
Knowing I'm exactly who and where I was created to be! The complete contentment! And the amazing health and strength to do all the things our new adventure holds!
Total peace and tranquility with Jesus and with our loved ones. Enjoying the newly restored earth, and our renewed, resurrected bodies.
To meet the Bible characters and ask endless questions about their lives. To meet people like C. S. Lewis and all the writers who have affected my life. To explore all the wonders of the New Heavens and the New Earth. To live in peace, joy, love, contentment, and eternal happiness. No pain, sickness or sorrow. To walk the golden streets…all of Heaven’s glory!!
I am looking forward to seeing God! To worshipping with the saints and angels and to walking with Jesus—looking into His face, touching His hands, and hearing His stories! And without a doubt I am looking forward to a deeper friendship than I knew on earth with my husband. I want to know what it was like for him at the time he was dying and what he felt when he woke up in Heaven—who he saw, what startled him most, and what he prayed for as he observed the saints below. An eternity of discovery!!!!
No more suffering for anyone, no more sorrow, pain, or grief. I can’t imagine living without any of these. I can’t even wrap my mind around how this would feel.
The absence of my own sin and weaknesses. I will finally be who He designed me to be!
I have experienced two samplings of unspeakable joy, so I want more of that! And I want to experience the awe of beholding Him in person. …I have gazed at my babies’ faces for hours and could never get enough of them—how much more so the Face of God! The One who made their faces! The beam of love He emits and to experience His gaze resting on me! I want to hang out there for a very, very, very long time.
No sickness, no tears…true friendships and walking and talking with Jesus…peace!
All that was sad being made glad.
Seeing Jesus, meeting so many new friends, no pain, no tears, no death, eternal adventures, seeing my dear friend again, and embracing my great grandparents on both sides.
Breathing the Resurrected Air!
Everything ♥️
To answer the question myself: first and foremost, I look forward to being with Jesus, my Lord and Savior and best friend. To be in His presence, to listen to Him and walk with Him…nothing could be better than that. Seeing God will be like seeing everything else for the first time. WOW!
Secondly, I look forward to seeing my family members and friends who have gone before me, including my dear mom, and my wife, Nanci, my closest sister in Christ. I fully expect no one besides God Himself will understand me better on the New Earth than Nanci, and there’s nobody whose company I’ll seek and enjoy more than hers.
Finally, I look forward to meeting other people. I’ll ask people to fill in the blanks of the great stories in Scripture and church history. I want to hear a few million new stories. I imagine we’ll relish these great stories, ask questions, laugh together, and shake our heads in amazement.
My heart explodes with happiness as I anticipate the world to come and its endless delights of closeness with Jesus, first and foremost, and the people of God and angels and creatures we have known and will one day know in a vast and beautiful new universe!
