阅读经文 

你或许曾经和家人和朋友共度一段欢乐的时光，你们享用美味的食物，甚至有充沛的阳光和蔚蓝的天空，还有和风拂面，整个世界都在散发出神创造的荣美。

这些欢乐时光，让我们瞥见我们在使徒信经中所宣告的：“我信永生”的意思。

尽管如此欢乐，比起我们在基督里盼望得到的永恒喜乐，这些今世短暂的欢乐，便显得相形见绌了。

然而，我们确实地知道：有一天，我们将会与耶稣一同站在神的宝座前，我们周围有无以计数的、来自世界各地的弟兄姊妹，他们完全没有惧怕，充满平安和喜乐。（参启 7）在那里，我们将会全心去作神创造我们要去实现的目的：“荣耀神，以祂为乐，直到永远。”（威斯敏特要理问答）

在此之前，我们只可能有短暂的时刻去窥见我们一生的终点——而那些时刻也可能就出现在我们正经历挣扎、挑战，甚至在极度的失败时。然而，在我们面对困境时，我们受到鼓励，不要失望，反要满怀盼望，等待耶稣的国大有权能和荣耀地降临，就是祂为我们成就一切应许的那一天到来。

Maybe you have had some great times with family and friends, with delicious food to enjoy, and perhaps even a sunny, blue sky overhead, a soft breeze blowing, and the world radiating God’s glory in creation.

Times like that can give us a peek at what we mean when we say, with the Apostles’ Creed, "I believe in … the life everlasting."

Even so, our fleeting moments of joy in this life pale in comparison to the eternal joy we can look forward to in Christ.

Yet this we know with certainty: one day, we will stand before God’s throne with Jesus, surrounded by countless sisters and brothers from around the world, completely freed from all fears, and filled with perfect peace and joy (Revelation 7). There we will be fully doing what we were created for: “to glorify God and enjoy him forever” (Westminster Catechism).

Until that time, we may have only fleeting glimpses of our ultimate destiny—and those moments may come in the midst of struggles, challenges, and sometimes even utter defeat. But we are encouraged not to despair in the midst of hard times but to wait with hope for the day when Jesus will be all and all, when his kingdom will come in power and glory.