The City of God to Come

Jody Sneed — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:12:47 +0000

Here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Hebrews 13:14

In the 13th chapter of Hebrews, we find comfort.

I cannot find a better term than comfort to describe the 25 verses of Hebrews 13. Written to believers enduring the severest of persecution, this chapter speaks of developing and maintaining our maturity in following Christ. While we may not be suffering publicly for our faith, our souls must contend with the struggles, doubts and temptations in our own troubled times and lives. For me, the comfort in Hebrews 13 is found in knowing our current situation is temporary (‘here we have no lasting city’) and in the hope of someday seeing the culmination of His promises in the ‘city that is to come’ at His return.

Living our faith has never been easy, regardless of the state of the time we inhabit. To gain the strength and perspective needed for such a life, we need reassurance that our decisions and actions are in accord with our Master. The entire book of Hebrews calls us to spiritual maturity by demonstrating the superiority of Christ in all aspects of our daily lives. He spoke of the reward of the faithful in Revelation 3:12, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

We were created in the Garden to live in a perfect fellowship with the Father. And since the Fall, all people, especially His followers, have had to live with an indescribable ache in our souls for reconciliation, for a reunion with Him. In ‘looking for the city to come’, we find hope in a fallen world and comfort in knowing our faith will be rewarded with the return of our Savior!

Devotional Christian » Jesus return

The City of God to Come