The older we get, the more our bodies wear out and are filled with aches and pains. It reminds us of our heavenly home, and it helps prepare us for the time when we step into eternity. In the fall of 2013, a dear saint in our assembly was having increasingly severe health problems. One day he stood, and said to us all: “Enjoy your aches and pains now because one day soon we will be with the Savior in heaven. There we will be given new, heavenly bodies. We will have no pain, no sorrow, and no death. A glorious future awaits us. Rejoice in this.”

The above expectation is right on target. When John the Apostle explained the physical, eternal state, he wrote, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2). Gospel accounts of our resurrected Savior describe Him with a body similar in appearance to His previous state. We would surely expect that, as God Himself, the Savior no longer experienced any pain. Revelation 21:4 confirms this when it refers to the eternal state of the kingdom saints. He wrote, “And God shall wipe away all tears…there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” The Apostle Paul explained that there will be vast differences in our new, eternal body. It will be a “celestial” body (I Corinthians 15:38-40), meaning it will be fitted by God to thrive in the atmosphere of the heavens. In contrast to our physical bodies that are weak, degenerating, and corruptible, our new bodies will be “raised in incorruption…glory…power…[and as] a spiritual body” (I Corinthians 15:42-44). Paul continued his explanation by saying, “…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…Behold I show you a mystery…we shall all be changed” (I Corinthians 15:50-51). To summarize our change, he said, “And as we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (I Corinthians 15:49).

Whenever you get weighed down with physical pain, remember that one day our Lord is going to give us new bodies without weakness or pain. Believe it, rejoice in it, and look forward to it with thanksgiving. In expectation and faithfulness, keep looking up for His return until He comes.