Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends.
The other day, it was a beautiful, windy afternoon and as I was sitting near a grove of oak trees, I watched a stiff summer breeze roll around some acorns. I knew that most would blow away. Others I knew would become cracked and dried up on top of the hard dirt. But I knew a few would take root under soil — these were the acorns I knew that were destined to become trees.
Now if you were to tell that tiny acorn that one day it would be a tall oak tree, as tall as a building, with heavy branches and thick, green leaves, that little acorn would say you were crazy — I mean a gigantic oak tree bears absolutely no resemblance to an acorn. The two, although one and the same, seem as different as night and day, but the truth is, inside that acorn is a promise, a pattern, a future plan of what it will one day become.
And the same is true for you. As a believer in the Lord Jesus, inside you is a promise; our God has a future plan of what you will one day become in heaven, for you will then have a new body -- a very different body than what you have now, but it will be one and the same. Sound impossible? 1 Corinthians 15 explains it this way, it says, “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed. The splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.” Wow! Little wonder heaven seems so mind-boggling, because trying to understand what our bodies will be like in heaven is much like asking an acorn to understand its destiny as a tree.
Your glorified body and mine will be so grand, so glorious, that we can catch only a fleeting glimpse of the wonder to come. You — and one day what you will be — are one and the same of that person yet to become, yet you are so very different. To understand what that means, go find an acorn on the ground, look up into the billowy skirts of the tree from which it fell, and then praise your Lord that “so will it be with the resurrection of the dead.” And friend that's not far away. Heaven is soon to break on the horizon and we have so much to look forward to, so much to celebrate.
I think you can tell I love thinking about and talking about the resurrection, heavenly glories above, and our new bodies. You can understand why -- my paralyzed body in this wheelchair is very much like a damaged acorn. And so, I get excited; I look forward to having a new body -- and a far better one than the paralyzed version I've been living in for most of my life. And I'll tell you something else: many of my friends with disabilities love thinking about their new heavenly bodies, too. Like my friend, Emily Shanahan, who has cerebral palsy and lives in a wheelchair. The perspective of this 21-year-old is nothing short of amazing and I’d love for you to hear her story in her own words.
So today would you come visit me at joniandfriendsradio.org and see for yourself how Emily looks at life… how the resurrection has altered this girl’s point of view on the pain and problems of earth. If you need a little inspiration today, she’s your go-to girl, so join in on the action at joniandfriendsradio.org. Also while you’re visiting, don’t forget to ask for your free note cards of my drawings. Maybe you know someone who needs to have a heavenly point of view, someone who needs to be reminded that the resurrection is soon and coming – well, tell them about it using my note cards; I’d be honored to join you in spreading around the inspiration.
Until next time, remember that the good things in this life are only omens, and whispers of greater and more glorious things to come. And your brand-new body is one of them.
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