A New Dress

Artwork by Megan Leong, at www.meganleongart.com

In December, I received this beautiful painting from a talented artist and kind soul. I wept as I unwrapped the carefully tied ribbon and tissue paper. It was good for those tears to fall. For a moment, I released the pressure of my grief and allowed the tears to flow freely.

Megan wrote she was inspired by the dress Emmi wore as she ran freely in a field. As I held the canvas in my hands, I thought, Emmi hung up this dress for a better one.

Philippians 3:20-21 says,

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

And 1 Corinthians 15:35-39 says,

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Several packets of seeds recently arrived in my mailbox, eagerly waiting for me to prepare their beds this spring. Many of the varieties are new to me, only a few will be familiar seeds I have sown before. If all I see is the shell of an unfamiliar seed rolling around in the palm of my hand, I cannot imagine the plant that will sprout after it has been planted. I’ve taken joy in discovering what lettuce and carrot seeds look like, and how just sprouted pepper plants differ from tomatoes. Just as when I roll an unfamiliar seed through the palm of my hand, I can’t imagine its future body - so also holding my earthly body, I cannot quite picture the splendor of my future body in heaven.

As I study Scripture, I’m beginning to uncover the same joys of my future hope as I’ve discovered in gardening. When I sow a seed, a plant springs up. When my natural body expires, a heavenly body will bloom.

Sometimes, when we talk about people who have died, we say we have “an angel watching over us now.” The thing is, I do not see evidence in Scripture that Emmi, or any other human being, has become an angel. God created angels as spiritual beings separate from human beings. Hebrews 1 tells us that angels are ministering spirits sent to help those who will inherit salvation.

In Psalm 8:4-5, NIV, says, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.” Clearly humans and angels were created as separate beings. Angels are God’s servants, messengers, and powerful warriors. I do not think that heaven is filled with cherubs strumming harps - what a monotonous existence. Praise God cloud-surfing chubby angel babies are never described in the Bible!

We have physical bodies in heaven and retain our individuality. Emmi is still Emmi in a new, completely restored body. Just as a buried seed sprouts and sheds its coat with a burst of new life, so Emmi’s body broken by cancer was left behind as she burst into heaven wearing a new dress. She no longer takes labored breaths or struggles to muster her energy - she breathes deeply and her legs stride with strength as she runs. She explores the place Jesus has prepared for her with childlike giggles and joy!

Heaven is a truly glorious place that will fill us with awe and wonder. Imagine a world without sorrow or pain - creation unblemished by decay or destruction. What would that be like? Can you imagine? All that beauty is awaiting all who freely accept the gift of redemption we’re offered! I long for heaven with tear stained sleeves, but God’s word assures me our mortality will be swallowed up with life.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 says, For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

A year ago today, Emmi’s mortal body was swallowed up by life and she was clothed in a new, better dress. Take heart, friends. Hope is coming.

Sunrise

No More Popped Balloons