“We should be called children of God; and so we are. (…) It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:1-2).
The best, the most glorious, is yet to come: the contemplation of the Triune God, the undisturbed and joyful communion with the angels and saints. One day I heard in my heart these words, which seemed to me to come from St. Joan of Arc: “If you knew what it was like to be here, you would not want to live another day on earth”.
And I believe it! In fact, the more we know the love of our Father, the more our longing for Him grows, united to the loving suffering of not yet being able to see Him. But the certainty that each one of us must first fulfill the task that God has entrusted to us in this life can help us to bear this suffering, waiting day by day for eternity. May many good works accompany us (cf. Rev 14:13)!
“We are God’s children now” (1 Jn 3:2). And what will we be then? A great mystery of love awaits us. This is how I understand the words of St. Joan. As earthly beings, we cannot really grasp the beauty and holiness of heaven, nor can we imagine what we will be.
But we can already catch a glimpse of it, because when we encounter the Lord, we begin to be transformed: our heart becomes more capable of love, virtues can grow, communion with the Father becomes more intimate. Nevertheless, God’s grace does not yet penetrate us as it will in the beatific vision. Nevertheless, the transformation we begin to experience in our earthly life is a harbinger of what will culminate in eternity. When we see our Father face to face, we will become what we really are.