“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:16-17).
All earthly tribulation has come to an end for those who have borne witness to our Father and to the Lamb and have remained faithful to Him until death. They will receive the great consolation of the Holy Spirit, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
What a loving gesture on the part of our Father!
With infinite love He will receive His own and let them rest in His Heart. Everything will be healed and nothing will be lacking. Now the Father will be able to give His children without limitations all that He has prepared for them.
Hunger and thirst, hardship and plagues will be over and then we will be grateful for every moment that we have served our Father with the efforts of this earthly life. He will not be outdone in His generosity, and He will repay us all by allowing us to live near Him for all eternity.
What a beautiful prospect! How short is the time of our earthly life, like the blink of an eye compared to eternity!
And this glory that awaits us is not only not far away, but it comes to us already during our earthly life, even if we still see “in a mirror dimly”, as the Apostle to the Gentiles tells us (1 Cor 13:12). Already now we are comforted, already now we can enter into that dialogue of love with God which will reach its fullness in eternity, already now the Lord does not simply abandon us to the hardships and fatigues of this world, but calls us: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Even now He leads us to the springs of life and feeds us with the bread of the angels.
But we are helped by the vision of eternity and the certainty that our Father awaits us there, giving us the opportunity to bring Him abundant fruit with the works of love that we have practised. Not only are we waiting for the Lord, but He is also waiting for us to embrace us with His love. In this way, our love and longing to be with the Lord will soon begin to grow, and this can become our motivation to make the most fruitful use of the time we have left in this world: for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.