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Extreme Makeover

JodiAugust 1, 2020

Anybody who knows me well knows I am a crazy list making planner, especially when it comes to taking trips. If our family is going on a vacation to a location that is new to us, I will spend countless hours researching everything there is to know about that place, taking notes and have even gone so far as to make a color coded vacation binder. You don’t even want to know how far I took that when we went to Disney World. I know I can’t be the only one that is like this- right? Well, I thought if I spent that much time planning a vacation, what in the world am I doing not finding out all there is to know about where I will spend eternity??

First of all, please understand that God never gave up on his original plan for us to live on this earth as he had intended in the book of Genesis. The Garden of Eden wasn’t a failed project. He didn’t make a mistake or throw up His hands in frustration. He has allowed the decisions of Adam and Eve to play out and He has an ultimate plan to redeem us once and for all.

There will come a day when this earth and the current heaven will be renovated in such a way that blows Extreme Home Makeover out of the water. Just like some of the homes on this show that have ravaged by termites or water damage, this world has been contaminated by the touch of Satan and his demons and the sins of humanity. God will purify heaven earth by “taking it down to the studs” and keeping the original structures in place without destroying them but by creating something familiar, yet altogether new, in the process.

As Randy Alcorn explains in his book “Heaven”, there is a “Present Heaven” where you go when you die and are with Jesus. It is almost like a parallel universe- we know it is there but we can’t see it. Later we will have a brand new heaven and earth. We are not exactly sure when the reno project will occur, but it is thought to happen after the Millennium. No matter when or how it happens, even a planner like me can trust in the fact that the process will be smooth and enjoyable- unlike many of our own home renovation disasters currently.

Our new home will be even better than the original Garden of Eden as it won’t be susceptible to evil, deception, death or decay. There will be no shortage of beauty to behold and everything will appeal to each of our senses. Since Adam and Eve were able to live there year round without clothes, we can assume the climate will be ideal. Heaven and earth will be joined as one as it says in Ephesians 1:10 “At this is the plan: At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ- everything in heaven and on earth.”

The most amazing thing about our new dwelling is that God himself will live among us. He will come down and make His home with us and we will finally be able to see Him face to face because we will be without sin, covered by the righteousness of Christ.

Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”