my last river

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:1-2

My soul is soothed knowing that at my final destination, I will live in the “city/garden” of God’s own design. And this crystal river of life running along a boulevard of life-giving healing trees shall fill me with its calm. When you look me up in heaven, you will find me by the river. Really. If Jesus lets me stay there as long as I want, I doubt I’ll ever leave. 

It’s no secret that I love rivers and streams. I have since my earliest childhood memory. I must have been about three years of age. One morning in the mid 1960’s, I snuck away from home with a wind up toy boat and made my way with several neighborhood kids to the creek at the end of the cul-de-sac in Newton, Kansas. I remember picking over rocks to find bugs and crawdads, and floating that boat in something more substantial than a white bathtub. Then my mother, worried sick and thoroughly upset with me, found us all, and carried this muddy crying little boy home for a bath and a lecture about possible drowning! To this day I still don’t know why I had to take a bath for playing in the water.

I believe that in eternity, when I get to stand by the river of the water of life, I’ll get to experience that childlike delight all over again (sans lecture and bath). And a cold crystal stream has got to have some nice trout holding water in it, right? It won’t surprise me if I find a four weight trout fly rod in my hand in that river, and wading in, get the best casts to rising trout sipping perfectly tied caddis flies.

Eternity is a beautiful picture. Jesus will return us to the Eden we were made to roam, walking with God along a beautiful river. The Bible ends with that picture. I’m thrilled that it does.