This morning I was reading through the 21st chapter of Revelation. In the 23rd verse John is continuing to give a description of heaven and in his description he wrote, “The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.” As I read that statement two other verses from the Gospels came to my mind. The first was a quote from Jesus in John 8:12 when he said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” The second was another quote from Jesus in Matthew 5:14 when he said, “You are the light of the world — like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.” All of those scriptures made me think about several different things, I want to share them with you.

First, can you imagine inhabiting a place that is served solely by God’s illuminating presence? Gone are the days of needing celestial decorations like harvest moons to really enjoy an evening walk. Equally gone are the evenings of needing to turn on a lamp in order to read or a use a street light to make your way across town. There will be no more dark corners or shady alleys. Instead, these things will be replaced by a bright warming presence wherever we are.

Second, Jesus isn’t just the light of eternity. If I read these passages correctly Jesus simply continues in eternity what He is seeking to do today — Be the Light. In this age, His light is leading us to eternal life. In the next, His Light will be providing everlasting life.

Finally, our opportunity both now and forever more is to reflect God’s glory. In other words, our greatest service to the Kingdom of God isn’t anything more or less than helping others to see and praise God. That’s exactly what Jesus went on to say in Matthew 5:15-16 when he said, “Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  With those words, we realize we now have an eternal job description.  Here it is:  Shine Bright and Bring God the Praise that is Due Him.