Peace and Joy

Today I read Isaiah 33:15-37:4 and Colossians 1:16-2:8. My favorite verses are:

Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

I put the verse from Colossians first because it is a prerequisite to the verse in Isaiah. We must be reconciled (made right) to God by the blood Christ shed on the cross before we can be part of the group returning to Zion with joy. Not only did the earth need to be made right in God’s sight, but heaven also must be cleansed. Remember in Job that Satan stood before God in heaven accusing Job. Before the redeemed enter heaven for eternity, there will be a new heaven where Satan has never entered. There will be nothing to diminish our joy and gladness—not even a sigh of nostalgia for what has been or might have been. Everything will be perfect, and God’s people will be perfectly happy. God gives us a taste of that here on earth as we associate with other Christians; we experience joy as we serve God together and see fruit borne in lives we touch. But it is like comparing an atom with the universe; we cannot even imagine the fullness of joy that will come to us when we enter heaven with the ransomed of the Lord!