Presently With the Lord

Our babies don’t exactly experience all aspects of eternity yet, seeing as the new heavens and new earth have not yet been inaugurated. Some promises (for example, the restoration of the earth, and God making His forever-home on earth with man, and the resurrection of our bodies) are still forth-coming.

Yet, Jesus made clear to the believing thief on the cross beside Him that he would truly see Jesus immediately after death—in fact, Jesus used the term “today” to describe this promise (Luke 23:43). To be away from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Even though the soul will not be united with the body again until the final resurrection, the soul can very much be alive apart from the body.¹ So, while we wait for the new heavens and new earth, our babies who have gone ahead have already seen the Lord—and with immediacy. They are in present relationship with Him. What hope—for to see the Lord and have relationship with Him means they lack nothing!

We know that our babies are presently away from their bodies. Yet, what a great promise to hold as those who have seen death’s effects on the bodies of our babies to anticipate their bodies being resurrected! There will be a resurrection and a transformation. After Jesus’ resurrection, His body was never “found.” He rose bodily from the grave. No matter how tiny or tainted with death was your baby’s body the last time you saw it on this earth, you can know this will not be your last or lasting memory of your baby’s precious body. There will be a resurrection! There will be redemption. We will all be like Him—bodily resurrected. It will certainly be a miraculous transformation.

Our babies presently “see in full” (1 Cor. 13:12). So, I also believe that our babies are fully grown, whatever that means in a heavenly context, since they could not have the ability to “see in full” without being fully developed. Our babies are worshipping Him as holy. They are home. They belong. Their treasure is Christ. Our babies’ deaths have been our loss, but truly their gain.

One day, we who believe in Christ will know this gain too. This treasure-filled, reward-rich, fully-redeemed, God-centered place will be our home. It will be even more than you or I can imagine.

As it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared
for those who love Him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9

¹Alternatively, some scholars suggest that believers might be given temporary bodies while awaiting the resurrection.

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Lianna (@liannadavis) is wed to Tyler and mom of two dear daughters. She is author of Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss (Hope Mommies, 2019). More of her writing can be found at her website.

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