Welcome to day 7. How did your family enjoy learning about the mysterious and profound picture of Christ and the Church, from marriage and sexuality? I hope that this beautiful picture provides a springboard for many more conversations, as your children grow and mature. Today we will learn about Heaven and the Glory of God, and how these relate to marriage and sexuality.

 

Our Future

 

After Jesus resurrected, he appeared to his followers and restored their hope and joy. Then, before returning to his father, he gathered them together and made some wonderful promises about their future. He said: 1. He would go and prepare a permanent home for them in his father's house. 2. He would one day return for them and bring them home. 3. He would send the Holy Spirit to them as a seal of this promise. Tomorrow we will learn more about the Holy Spirit.

 

Our Father’s House

 

Jesus promised his followers that he would go and prepare a place for them in his father's house. What he was speaking about was heaven. Heaven is an eternal place where God dwells with his people. It is a place of pure peace and joy, where there will be no tears or sadness or death. The crown jewel of Heaven is Jesus himself, and the most enjoyable experience in Heaven is worshipping him forever. There may be times when life is difficult for your family, but Jesus comforts us with the promise that this world is not our home, and that soon Jesus will return to bring us to our true home in heaven to be with him forever

 

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

 

One of the most exciting events we have to look forward to in Heaven is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Today your family will read about this grand ceremony that all followers of Jesus will be a part of. Just as this creation began in a marriage ceremony between the first man and woman, it will conclude in a marriage ceremony between Christ and his Bride. All marriage ceremonies are meant to be a picture of this grandest of all marriage ceremonies, and Jesus tells us that there will be no more human marriages in Heaven, because the picture is gloriously complete.

 

God’s Glory

 

Have you ever wondered, “what is glory?” Theologian John Piper defines glory as, “The public display of the infinite beauty and worth of God.” That’s profound! Restated in today’s devotional it is simply, “the display of God’s greatness.” God speaks A LOT about his glory in the Bible, telling us that he is zealous for his own glory. Zeal is great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. God exhibits great energy in the magnification of his own glory, and so the Holy Spirit wants to give us great energy in glorifying Jesus. Our greatest purpose for life is to glorify God, by making him look as great as we can. When we worship God, and talk about how wonderful he is, we give him much glory, and he loves that.

 

Application

 

So how do we apply what we learn today to marriage and sexuality? Well, first, by knowing that heaven is our true home, and that human marriage was only designed for this life as a pointer to our being united to Christ in heaven, our children need not fear they are missing out if they never get married or have sex in this life, because the most pleasant experience to be had will be worshipping Jesus forever in eternity. Second, if our children do choose to marry one day, God wants them to think most about his glory when choosing a spouse. Marriage is not primarily about finding someone to make us happy. Marriage is primarily about glorifying God together, through sacrifice and submission, and then creating a family that magnifies God’s greatness.

 

May your family commit together to make it your #1 mission to live for God’s glory!

 

God bless you.