on better streets beyond

The Word for today:
Zechariah 8

mark this:  Zechariah 8:5
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.


Most everything I've learned about the Bible, I learned from J. Vernon McGee.  Most everything J. Vernon McGee learned about the Bible, he learned from G. Campbell Morgan.  Most everything G. Campbell Morgan learned about the Bible, he learned from God.

So you can see that when I say the name 'G. Campbell Morgan,' we are in pretty fast company!

G. Campbell Morgan said that when he wanted to catch a glimpse of the kingdom of God, he didn’t go into a room where adults were praying but into the street where kids were playing.  Jesus said essentially the same thing in Matthew 18:3.

In Zechariah 8 we get a foretaste of the Millennium, which itself is a foretaste of Jesus' eternal Kingdom (commonly referred to as heaven).

The Bible only hints at what heaven will be like.  Almost all our assumptions about heaven are gathered between the lines of scripture--probably because our imaginations are too feeble to comprehend more complete descriptions.  God's works, we are told, will be immeasurably more than all we imagine. (1)

But don't let that stop you from imagining like a child and reading between the lines like an adult.  Because when we do, we begin to get specific hints of heaven! 

Let's look at one brief line from Zechariah 8:
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. (v.5)

What can we gather? First of all, it seems obvious that in the Millennium, crime will be eradicated, allowing children to play without fear.  But don't stop there.  Think of what life, in general, will be like without any crime.  We are hardly capable of comprehending all the consequences.

What else is missing from Zechariah 8:5?  Here's a hint: If my children were to play in the streets, it would mean that there were no cars out there any more.  Now go ahead and begin to spin the consequences of that!

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My favorite thing, when I was a kid on Gooding Street, was playing marbles.  (Since then, alas, I've lost them all!)

But I've got a feeling there's a big bag of them, just waiting, on better streets beyond.

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(1) see Ephesians 3:20