… prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband… Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children…  One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

Revelation 21:2b, 7, 9

The sixth image is an awesome one: In the fullness of the Kingdom, not only will God be present with His people, they will also enjoy the deepest, most intimate and meaningful of relationships with Him, for they will be His family. Note 21:7 when is says “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children”. Read that slowly; give it a chance to really sink in…

The New Testament has many references to this idea of entering God’s family as brothers of Christ, of being God’s children, yet all too often we fly past as though these statements were more hyperbole than anything else, but they are not. Hebrews teaches us very clearly that we are “co-heirs” with Christ “to everything”; what does this mean?

Think of what a “co-heir” is: It means that you and I will inherit a piece of everything that Jesus inherits from the Father, and what has He inherited? He is King of kings and Lord of lords; you will have a piece of that. He has inherited the whole universe; you will have a piece of that. He is the Father’s Son; you will have a piece of that. He is the Son whom the Father loves; you will have a piece of that… Can you see how this is working?

Verses 21:7 and 9 refer to the church as the Bride of Christ, meaning that in the consummated Kingdom; our relationship with our Lord will be like that of a wife and her husband, only without the problems. It will be a deep and intimate relationship with no secrets and no forbidden subjects, all questions answered and shared; no lies or holding back on either side… Talk about love; this is love to the fullest, beyond what anyone has ever experienced before.

If you consider this reality and look around you today, at your struggles, at your circumstances and problems of this life, even on your worst day, how can they possibly begin to compare to the wonders you have in Christ?