Imagine Heaven DevotionalSample

Full of His Glory

Dr. Richard Eby considered himself an amateur botanist, but he couldn’t even name all the varieties of trees and flowers he saw during his NDE. He also noticed a new  type of life in the flora: 

My gaze riveted on the exquisite valley in which I found myself. Forests of symmetrical trees unlike anything on earth covered the foothills on each side. I could see each branch and “leaf”—not a brown spot or dead leaf in the forest. (“No death there” includes the vegetation!) Each tree, tall and graceful, was a duplicate of the others; perfect, unblemished. They resembled somewhat the tall arbor vitae cedars of North America, but I could not identify them. 

The valley floor was gorgeous. Stately grasses, each blade perfect and erect, were interspersed with ultra-white, four-petaled flowers on stems two feet tall, with a touch of gold at the centers. Each was totally alike. . . . 

I found my hand containing a bouquet of identical blossoms. Their whiteness was exciting. I almost had time to ask myself “why so white” when the answer was already given! “On earth you saw only white light which combined the color spectrum of the sun. Here we have the light of the SON!” 

The illumination fascinated me—not a shadow anywhere. There was no single light source as on earth. I realized that everything seemed to produce its own light. Again the answer coincided with my query: the Heavens declare the glory of God . . . He is the Light of the world!

The language of Scripture and the words NDErs use over and over again emphasize that our temporal, earthly life is the fuzzy, less-than-real shadow of the brilliant, beautiful, beyond-your-wildest-dreams, real life to come. As Isaiah 6:3 says, the earth is displaying God’s glory even now. Our sun is simply a reminder of the radiance of God, who is the Light of life.

As you go about your day today, be mindful of God’s glory reflected in all of earth’s beauty, and praise Him for these gifts He has  given you to enjoy. You can experience His brilliant glory now, as you worship Him. 

Dear God, I am in awe of you! Help me worship you today as I encounter your glory all around me. Amen.

Taken from Richard Eby, Caught Up into Paradise (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1978), 204–5.