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cious” are too weak to describe what we will find<br />
in heaven. But it is clear that heaven is festive.<br />
Now comes the surprise: Heaven is not just comparable<br />
to a wedding, but is the place where a<br />
real wedding occurs. In Revelation 19:7 we read,<br />
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!<br />
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his<br />
bride has made herself ready.” Jesus Himself is<br />
the groom, and all who have been saved through<br />
Him are the bride.<br />
Those who are invited can consider themselves<br />
happy. In the Parable of the Lost Son, we read<br />
that “they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:24). Joy is<br />
everlasting in heaven; we cannot estimate the<br />
degree of this happiness.<br />
4 Heaven is a beautiful place<br />
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, concerning<br />
this Creation, “See how the lilies of the field<br />
grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that<br />
not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed<br />
like one of these” (Matt 6:28-29). The creation<br />
displays the Creator’s love of beauty which<br />
mankind cannot imitate. God is the originator of<br />
all that is beautiful.<br />
After much suffering, God blessed Job: “And he<br />
also had seven sons and three daughters. The<br />
first daughter he named Jemimah [= little dove],<br />
the second Keziah [= cinnamon blossom] and<br />
the third Keren-Happuch [= precious vessel]”<br />
(Job 42:13-15). The beauty of Job’s daughters is<br />
especially emphasized. They would have won any<br />
Miss World Competition.<br />
Of Jesus Himself, the Creator in person, it is said<br />
in Psalm <strong>45</strong>:2: “You are the most excellent of<br />
men and your lips have been anointed with grace,<br />
since God has blessed you for ever.” When He is<br />
sacrificed on the cross for the sin of humanity,<br />
however, He gives up His beauty, as we can read<br />
in Isaiah 53:2, “He had no beauty or majesty to<br />
attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that<br />
we should desire him”.<br />
Jesus has always been described as beautiful and<br />
148<br />
perfect. In Isaiah 33:17 it is written: “Your eyes<br />
will see the king in his beauty.” The well-known<br />
German song Fairest Lord Jesus expresses this<br />
aspect especially well:<br />
Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature<br />
O Thou of God and man the Son<br />
Thee will I cherish<br />
Thee will I honour<br />
Thou my soul’s glory, joy and crown.<br />
Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands<br />
Robed in the blooming garb of spring<br />
Jesus is fairer<br />
Jesus is purer<br />
Who makes the troubled heart to sing.<br />
Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight<br />
And fair the twinkling, starry host<br />
Jesus shines brighter<br />
Jesus shines purer<br />
Than all the angels Heav’n can boast.<br />
…<br />
Beautiful Saviour! Lord of the nations!<br />
Son of God and son of man!<br />
Glory and honour,<br />
Praise, adoration<br />
Now and forevermore be thine.<br />
(From the German “Schönster Herr Jesus”, 1677)<br />
If God’s love for beauty is evident even in this<br />
Creation, in the form of every snowflake, each<br />
lily, orchid and the countless blooms of other<br />
flowers or the luxurious plumage of some birds,<br />
how much more fitting it is to have beauty as<br />
one of the most important attributes of heaven!<br />
Many people seek beauty on this earth. Surgeons<br />
who perform facelifts are in great demand. An<br />
entire industry specializing in the making and<br />
selling of beauty-enhancing or beauty-preserving<br />
products is assured of thriving business. Yet, even<br />
the most renowned of this world’s Beauty<br />
Queens will see their beauty fade. Everything on<br />
earth is perishable (Rom 8:20).
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