Crowns VIII

“His reign shall know no end, and round his pierced feet, fair flowers of paradise extend their fragrance ever sweet.”

The eternality of God is perhaps the most difficult attribute for us to understand. We question his goodness, sovereignty, and faithfulness, but we have examples of those characteristics in everyday life. While we may not always understand his choices/decisions, we have a frame of reference for how it works. However, he is the only eternal one. He is the only being who has always been and always will be in existence. He is the only uncreated Creator – the uncaused Cause as some have called him. I would argue his eternality is one of his most important characteristics. In order to be God – almighty/sovereign/transcendent – he must exist outside of time. He cannot be the Cause if there was a being that existed before him. Lewis once described the process of spiritual maturity as going further up and further in. Our spiritual journey will culminate at his feet in the worship of the One who began time itself. In the end, he will “Unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). The One who was pierced for us. The One who took our sin and willingly laid down his life will be visibly supreme. Judgment will take place and he will stand on the earth (Job 19:25). Once he returns, it will be eternally too late for repentance. His first coming was for death and redemption. His second coming will be to crush his enemies and rescue Israel. Eventually, after his millennial reign, he will deal with sin and death once for all.

The concept of flowers in paradise that never die is interesting. Many times, in the Bible, flowers are used to illustrate to transient or temporary state of our life. However, if the fragrance is ever sweet that would seem to indicate that the flowers never die. We are told there will be trees (or at least one tree) in heaven so it is not unreasonable to think that there might be literal flowers blooming. However, I think this is actually pointing to at least two very interesting truths. Heaven will be in keeping the nature of the One who lives there. Death will be abolished across the board. Even in the small details, the eternal nature of the Creator will be unfurled in full – visible – tangible glory. Secondly, this is a reflection of changed reality. More than once, humanity is compared to flowers. They highlight the transient nature of existence – especially if they are removed from their source of life. These flowers will not die, and neither will we. If we surrender to him now, we can live eternally in his presence. He has provided redemption, but it will be on his terms – or not at all. Flowers of paradise are a beautiful reminder that because he lives, we will live (John 14:19). We get to partake in the eternal nature of the Father. We are remade in his righteousness. We are privileged to undertake the journey of a lifetime that should be filled with a progressive understanding of his nature and our new identity. We will travel further up and further in until our faith becomes sight and we stand in the presence of the uncreated One who stepped into time to redeem lost man. We will see the One that we love (1 Peter 1:8). And then, the preface to the eternal book that we are currently living will end…and the true story, the substance we have hoped for, will begin.