A New Song

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God, Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” Revelation 7:9-10

Do you ever wonder what heaven will be like? In recent years, there have been several books written and movies made about people who claim they crossed over to the other side and then came back to tell us all about the experience. There have been hymns, hit radio songs, and poems written about the place where believers will spend eternity. Phrases like, “pearly gates,” and “streets of gold” are instantly recognizable by most people as descriptions of heaven. But what does the Bible say? How does the Bible describe heaven?

In Revelation 7:9-10, the Bible describes heaven as deeply racially diverse. The inhabitants – too many to count – are geographically, racially, and culturally diverse; and yet, they are completely unified. That is almost unimaginable in our world, isn’t it? Race relations in our world spark a variety of responses like outrage, fear, anger, and grief. But not in heaven. In heaven, there is unity.

Oh, how I wish this could be true on earth. Racism has no place in the body of Christ. In Christ, we are free to be different, yet still unified. We are free to be different in our preferences of music style, preaching style, fashion, and much more. But we must never let these differences overshadow how we are the same. In Christ, we have so much in common. We have all been forgiven and redeemed by the same Christ. We have been made new and filled with the same Spirit. We have been saved for the same purpose – to glorify the same God.

In heaven, the glory of the Redeemer outshines the differences of the Redeemed. Notice the song they sing in Revelation 7:10, “Salvation belongs to our God, Who sits on the throne…” Our God. When we turn our eyes away from ourselves and fix them on Christ, we begin to sing a new song…a song of reconciliation, of healing, and of hope – hope through a living Savior who is the answer to all of the brokenness in our world.

Jesus, Thank You for entering our brokenness so that we might experience Your restoration. I know that You are the only hope for our world. Help me to be a beacon of light in the darkness of racial division. In Jesus’ Name, amen.