The Hope of Restoration by Brittany Tate

“Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4

At my house, November 1 means the Christmas season has officially begun. We pack up Halloween and Fall items and bring out the Christmas trees and Holiday décor. We spend the day rocking Christmas music and spend that night watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate and eggnog. This day marks the beginning of a new season – one of joy and laughter, magic and wonder, a time when we get together with our family and friends, and a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

But this year sits a little differently for me. Though our Christmas decorations have been up for weeks now I find myself mindlessly staring at the fireplace where our stockings hang. There’s an emptiness about our fireplace that I have not experienced in the last few years. An emptiness that marks a despair about this time of year.

The truth is, even though Christmas is a time of joy and celebration of our Savior, for me it’s also a time of pain. For the last two years I have faced the significant deaths of loved ones at Christmas. My sister passed away last November of 2021 and my dad passed away the previous December of 2020. And, for the last two years our fireplace has been adorned with beautiful bouquets of flowers from my dad’s and sister’s funeral.

This year though, our fireplace sits empty. You would think this emptiness would bring me comfort signifying the absence of another funeral to face but somehow it doesn’t. Instead, it marks an emptiness that sits in my soul knowing the unity and bond that I’ve shared with my loved ones though the years has now been broken. I won’t see them at Christmas. I won’t laugh with them, talk to them, or celebrate with them. I won’t even see their flowers sitting on my fireplace.

Loosing loved ones does something to your soul. It creates an emptiness inside of you. A longing to be in the presence of the ones you love so much. But this emptiness isn’t the finality of your story but a reminder. It reminds you that you are not made for this world. I reminds you that there is a longing in your soul for an eternity for which you have not yet reached. It’s a longing for restored unity – unity with the loved ones you’ve lost and unity with a God who provides you comfort in your times of despair.

The Book of Revelation serves as a beautiful reminder of what we are all ultimately created for – unity. We were created to live in unity with God, and yet, because of sin, our unity has been broken and humanity has been left with the desperate need for restoration.

It’s through the gospel of Jesus that we receive restoration and the hope of the restoration to come. The hope of a new heaven and new earth, a restored unity among God and His people – one where there will be no more death, no more grief, no more crying, and no more pain.

One day, when Jesus returns to earth, the Body of Christ – including all that have lived on earth in present age and past, will be united for eternity. God will establish a new Heaven and a new earth where we will live and reign with God, in complete and perfect unity, and without the presence of sin.

So, when you are reminded of the emptiness that sits in your soul because of the loved ones you’ve lost throughout the years, let it serve as the hope you have in God’s promise: your life here on earth is never the end but through Jesus, it is simply the beginning of our perfected forever – one where we will live in unity forever.

Brittany