19th March 2012

It’s so easy to think about Jane, and wonder about her new life. Time and time again. I believe it’s much healthier to think of the life she’s living right now, rather than looking back into the past and recalling how she suffered. So there we were driving into Dover, about 5 years ago, when Jane saw the farm sign offering public access to new born lambs. ‘I’ve always wanted to hold a lamb’ she said and she did. Not exactly new born, but close enough. The funny thing is, that was the first time she ever mentioned that particular dream. I knew nothing about it. But there are other dreams we did share. And we made plans for the future…

Not too long before Jane died she asked me what I would do after she was gone. I said I’d cry a lot but didn’t want to think any more about that. I’m still basically at that stage, though the tears have eased considerably and I’m now much stronger emotionally. Anyway our conversation then returned to our future together in eternity. That was when we agreed to our first date in eternity. Yes I know there’ll be no more marriage but God joined our hearts together and surely would have us meet up and catch up. And that was just one of many conversations that we had over more recent months and years. Funny how facing up to our own mortality focusses attention in that direction. But actually there’s very little we could say about heaven and our speculation was more to do with the Lord’s return to planet earth. That is far easier to imagine as heaven is a mystery and basically beyond imagination. We know it to be paradise, whatever that means. Pretty good I reckon, but we’re a bit lacking in detail, especially when it appears we’ll have spiritual bodies rather than physical ones. How does that work? No idea, though for sure we’ll retain our own identity and memories of the life we’ve left behind. I like to think of it as very similar to the physical world we know so well, only more spiritual. Why reinvent the wheel? When God created the world he created perfection, it’s only man that messed things up. And one day, in the apparently fairly distant future, heaven will descend to earth and in some way there will be a joining together, or a transforming or whatever. That mystery is beyond my imagination.

But Jane and I dared to dream dreams of a different era. I believe the Lord will return to planet earth in the not very distant future. I hope that will be in my lifetime and suspect it to be much sooner than might be expected. Yes when the Lord Jesus returns this world will change forever and with him will come all those who died as his followers. This world is beginning to go through times of great trouble; the World Wars of the 20^th century are a foretaste of that. For a relatively short period of time things will become much worse than anything we’ve ever seen before. There are those who suggest that the church, the ‘Bride of Christ’ will be taken away to heaven before the very worst happens. I have some sympathies for that position but remain determined to be open to the Lord doing things his way irrespective of any human eschatology… for the record I lean very slightly towards Dispensational Premillennialism, though the Bible actually has very little to say on the subject so it should never be a major focus of attention. There are more important things to occupy us than a detailed understanding of the future. But for sure one day the Lord will return for good, and I expect those returning with him will be set to task in putting the world to rights. So basically I’ve arranged to meet up with Jane asap… I have a date! Maybe the much debated ‘rapture’, but whenever. And we even speculated on the work God would have us do together. When the Lord returns it’ll be after a time of trouble the likes of which the world has never seen. But what next? I reckon there’s gonna be quite a mess to clear up. And maybe a lot of people who have no idea what’s been happening. They’ll need help. So the eco-friendly movement will really take on a new momentum. One way or another we’ll be kept busy for a very long time.

Jane and I liked to dream. And I’m sure there’ll always be a new born lamb to look after.

Revelation 20:4 ‘They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.’ (NLT)