It was April 2020 and I had been in isolation for almost six weeks.
Three weeks in hospital and the others three weeks in my apartment.
The reason? It wasn't corona, as you might assume from the date.
No, I had undergone radioiodine therapy for my thyroid gland. What only lasted 3-5 days for most people, lasted almost six weeks for me. During this time, I wasn't allowed to get too close to anyone. I had to keep at least two meters away from everyone. The only crazy thing was that I didn't even have to pay attention to it, people did it themselves - because of the corona pandemic. But after six weeks of isolation, I suffered greatly from loneliness.
During this time, a friend invited me to visit her. She was pregnant at the time. Despite corona and my radiation treatment, she wanted to meet up with me. So I drove to her place. When we greeted each other, she hugged me. It was a warm, friendly hug. Even though it's not normally anything special, this hug meant the world to me. It hit me deep in the heart. Being able to hug a loved one again after six weeks of isolation was the most wonderful feeling on earth.
We often take such interpersonal interactions for granted. But it's only when you're deprived of these things for a very long time that you realize how important they are. In my case, six weeks is still very little. Imagine having to wait a year to see and hug the person you love the most again! Now imagine a God who has been waiting for over 6,000 years to finally embrace his beloved children, for whom he has fought and suffered so much.
Let's dive into the story of the Wanderer one last time. Are you ready for the grand finale? 🙂
The encounter with the creator of the universe
(Note: The following is a narrative that does not claim to accurately reflect the full biblical picture of Jesus' return and the things that happen afterwards. The focus is rather on the deep relationship between Jesus and his redeemed).
A moment ago, the wanderer was still on the dark earth, robbed of all hope and close to death. His only support was this mysterious thick white rope, to which he clung with the last of his strength. (Here still to read) Everything around him was dark. The deep, terrible abyss gaped beneath him. The wanderer seemed doomed to die. But when he put all his trust in the white rope and entrusted himself completely to it, the dark sky tore open and a bright light illuminated the hiker. At the same moment, the white rope pulled him into the clouds. These carried the wanderer towards the heavenly city.
He could see the golden city walls from afar. As he approached this unusual sight, he noticed the city gates. Each of them consisted of a huge pearl. The wanderer had never seen anything so beautiful!
As he approaches one of these 12 gates, it opens with a flourish. A dazzling light, brighter than the sun, streams out of the now open gate. For a few moments, the wanderer is blinded. But it doesn't take long for him to get used to the bright light. In this light, he now begins to recognize a figure moving slowly towards him. This figure is dressed all in white. It is wearing a magnificent crown on its head. The face radiates great majesty and glory, bright as the sun. Even though the eyes seem to penetrate everything, they are gentle and loving. When this extremely majestic being catches sight of the wanderer, the most radiant smile that anyone has ever seen appears on its glorious face.
To the wanderer's astonishment, this impressive creature hurries towards him at a rapid pace. As it comes closer, it stretches out its pierced hands towards the wanderer, embraces him, pulls him close and embraces him with the most intimate hug possible. With the sweetest voice that human ears have ever heard, he says: „Welcome, my dear son! Welcome home!“
After the hiker has overcome the first small shock, he lets himself fall into the arms of his beloved savior. What a feeling that is!
So often, he had already had fellowship with Jesus. He had often reached out to him in prayer and revealed the deepest desires of his heart. But he had never met Jesus as he did now. It is like the story of the prodigal son, where the father was on the lookout for his little rebel. When, after many years, his son came home downcast and humiliated, the father ran to meet him, hugged and kissed his son, who was stinking of pigs.
Jesus had struggled and worried with the wanderer his whole life long. He had tried for a very long time to lead him on the right path. Again and again he had been sad when the wayfarer had rejected him. Jesus had to watch as the wanderer destroyed himself. He stood helplessly by as his creature, whom he had created so wonderfully, made himself more and more a slave to sin. Only when he could sink no lower did the wanderer realize his true condition. Although he had rejected Jesus' gentle call for so long, causing him great pain, he hoped that it was not yet too late. How great was Jesus' joy when the wanderer began to ask about his Creator. He willingly forgave him all his sins and helped him to take the right path.
Even on the narrow path, Jesus shared the wanderer's fever. He rejoiced in the victories and wept when the hiker failed through his unbelief and realized how much he had made Jesus sad. The road to heaven had been long and arduous. But although there were repeated setbacks, the wanderer allowed himself to be guided by his invisible companion. After they had gone through so many adventures together, they had finally made it! The wanderer had reached his destination! Now they are both in each other's arms. The journey together, with all its challenges, had made the bond between them inseparable.
The heavenly Jerusalem
What happiness flows through the hearts of both of them, because they know that they will never be separated again. A whole eternity of unadulterated joy now lies ahead of them.
Jesus now leads the wayfarer through the pearly gates. He says to the wayfarer: „Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!“ With an inviting hand gesture, he asks the traveler to enter. He can no longer stop marveling. He sees streets and houses made of shining gold. Jesus leads him through the streets to a magnificent tree. This tree stands by a mighty river that flows through the middle of the city. The trunk is divided into two parts. One part stands on each side of the bank and meets in the middle: „This is the tree of life,“ says Jesus. „It bears its fruit every month. Whoever eats of them will never die. Even the leaves are edible. They serve to heal the nations. They heal the last traces of sin.“ Jesus then leads the traveler to the sea of glass. There, in a solemn ceremony, he receives his crown of victory, the sign that he has overcome the old world and has now been reinstated as the son and heir of the heavenly kingdom.
The marriage supper of the Lamb
After this coronation, a cheerful smile covers Jesus„ face. “Now comes the climax of the whole history of the world! The marriage supper of the Lamb is now taking place! It is my wedding. I have waited so long to take my bride home. Now the time has finally come! You already have your white wedding garment on. So you are worthy to take part in the meal.„ With these words, Jesus leads him to a long table. There are countless people sitting at this table - men, women and children. They are all dressed in pure, white linen. The wanderer cannot tell their number. With a smile full of fatherly pride, Jesus says: “These are my redeemed. These are your brothers and sisters and mine. I was able to buy them all with my blood. Like you, they have all accepted my sacrifice for themselves and have walked the narrow path to get here.„ The wanderer asks in amazement: “They all walked the same path as me?„ He lets his gaze wander over the innumerable crowd. When he was walking along the narrow path, he often had the feeling that he was the only one walking this way. But now he sees that he was apparently very much mistaken. As Jesus watches him, he smiles gently. “Yes, all of them were pilgrims like you. You met some of them on your way. Others you saw the traces they left behind." The hiker thinks of the traces of blood on the beautiful white wall. He realizes that they really did have the same experiences. Slowly, he becomes really curious to get to know all these people and hear their stories. But now it was time to celebrate.
Jesus leads the wayfarer to his place. While Jesus takes his place at the head of the table, the hiker takes his place among his fellow pilgrims. And indeed, he discovers many a familiar face. He is surprised to see one or two of them here. Other faces that the hiker would have expected to see here are missing. Later, there would be time to clarify these and many other questions.
The hiker now takes a closer look at the table with all the delicacies on it. There is fresh grape juice to drink. The food is delicious manna, the bread of angels. There is also an endless variety of fruit and nuts. The hiker has never seen some of these fruits before. The taste of these fruits cannot be compared with the over-cultivated fruits of the old world!
At home
After the wedding feast, Jesus leads the traveler to his personal townhouse. Jesus had personally furnished this house for the wayfarer. When the wanderer enters the house and sees the magnificent furnishings, which are exactly to his taste, he is overwhelmed. He takes off his crown and prostrates himself before Jesus in worship. He is now more aware than ever of how little he deserves all this. He could have done nothing to earn this right. He now sees very clearly that all of this is a gift of infinite grace. It is a gift of eternal and unconditional love. The wanderer now becomes even more aware of this love. The love for his Savior and brother grows even more in his heart. Tears of gratitude and indescribable happiness drip onto the golden floor of the house.
A soft hand gently grasps the walker's head and gently moves it upwards. Now the wanderer looks into the loving eyes of Jesus, who bends down to him. The wanderer grasps these hands with his own. He slowly strokes the scars he has caused there. This makes him realize how high the price was that Jesus had to pay for him. New tears stream down the face of the wanderer. Then the same hands that had willingly placed themselves on the cross wipe away the wanderer's tears. When he can see a little more clearly again, he sees that his Savior's eyes have not remained dry either.
This is how infinity begins for the wanderer in a perfect world at the side of his king, brother and friend. Sometimes the wanderer still tries to remember his pilgrimage. But compared to the glory that surrounds him, the hardships of his journey seem insignificant. He only wonders why he found it so difficult to let go of this dark world. Nothing in this old, sick world can compare in the slightest with the unspeakable joy and happiness of eternity.
Thus ends the journey of the wanderer to the heavenly city.
What about your trip?
The big question that remains now is, where are you at this moment?
Are you traveling on the narrow path and struggling with the problems and difficulties of a Christian life? Then don't be discouraged! Look to the eternal reward that you want to attain! Look beyond your present problems to your eternal inheritance that awaits you if you remain faithful to the end! Even if you can't always see and feel him, you have the most brilliant God by your side, who loves you more than anything and wants to help you if you let him.
Perhaps you are standing at the beginning of my picture, at the fork in the road, and don't know which way to go.
Perhaps you have already tried a few things, but have not yet been able to find true happiness. Perhaps the God of the Bible seems dusty and limiting to you. Perhaps you are wondering what this ancient book has to do with our lives today? Then I invite you on a journey! This dusty book is more relevant than you might think. I have found my happiest hours studying these old words. So if you would like to get to know this old book and the God it contains, please feel free to contact me. Contact us to me. I would like to help you find a personal approach. I would also like to invite you to put this God to the test. You can say a very simple prayer: „God, if you really exist and you have a personal interest in me, then reveal yourself to me. Show me that you exist and that you love me! Amen.“ If you pray this, then get ready for something! 🙂
But perhaps you have realized that you are on the wrong path and that you have done a lot of bad things in your life. You would like to turn back to God, but you have doubts that God can accept someone like you? Your guilt is crushing you. You long for deliverance, but you can't find it anywhere. How can such a great, holy God forgive you? Perhaps you have already tried to cleanse your guilt through good deeds, but the stains could never be washed away. Instead, it drags you further and further into the dirt. Even though you may not be able to see it now, forgiveness and a new beginning is possible. No matter what you're struggling with, what addictions you're in, whatever you've done, nothing is too big for God not to forgive if it's sincerely repented of. If you don't believe me, then read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. There you will see a loving father who gladly welcomes back his rebellious child. Don't wait until you have improved yourself before you come to God. Come to him as you are. Be completely open and honest. Tell God in an undisturbed place about everything you have done. Tell him how sorry you are and that you would like to start again. Admit to him that you cannot improve yourself, but that you would like his help. Ask him to cleanse you from your guilt through the blood of Jesus and to give you a new life. Invite Jesus to take the lead in your life and create in you a new heart with new desires and habits. Look for Bible-believing Christians who can help you on this path. If you need help with this, then get in touch gladly with me!
This well explained video can help you on your way!
Start afresh today!
The entire picture was created under the motto:
„Every day is day one with God!“
So no matter where you are in the picture at this moment, every day is a new chance to start or continue with God. Even if I was unfaithful to God yesterday and did bad things, I can start again today. God is more patient than we are with ourselves and has compassion for our weakness. But don't wait too long, because the longer we stay in sin, in bad things, the more difficult it becomes to turn back to God.
What's stopping you from taking a chance on God?
Take a look at the two paths and decide for yourself where your destiny should end.
I can only say from my own experience that I have never regretted my decision to take the narrow path. The closer I get to my heavenly home, the happier I become. I tried to find my happiness in this world, but that path only got darker. It is not worth sacrificing eternal happiness for fleeting pleasures.
Are you ready to embark on the biggest adventure of your life? Do you want to become a hiker?
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