Oh, the
best is yet to come when I walk through Heaven’s gate,
The first time I see Jesus I can hardly wait.
He’ll show me to my mansion, say, “Child, this is your home.”
Oh, I have a feeling in my heart the best is yet to come!
The writer is telling us that although we’ve seen the beauty of a sunrise, and heard the strains of the Hallelujah Chorus, although we’ve witnessed the grandeur of the mountains and beheld the beauty of a tropical paradise, that is nothing compared to what God has planned for us.
Nathanael, also called Bartholomew, was one of the Lord’s apostles. Not among the more famous of the chosen twelve, Nathanael doesn’t concern the first three Gospel writers other than listing him with the group. But John does provide us with a glimpse into the personality of Nathanael, a fascinating and inquisitive man.
Also a fisherman and from the city of Cana, Nathanael could thank his close companion Philip for introducing him to the Savior. In John 1 we read about Jesus calling Nathanael. “Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’” (45).
But Nathanael did not immediately accept the Lord as did many of the others. He first had some questions that needed to be addressed. Nathanael wanted to be certain Jesus was the real thing, so he asked, “How do you know me?” (48) Jesus answered that he had seen Nathanael under a fig tree. Jesus now had Nathanael’s attention, and he was impressed. “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (49).
Jesus’ next words were truly worth remembering, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than this” (50). What a profound statement! In other words he was telling Nathanael, “Son, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Certainly greater things were in store for this newfound disciple. During the next few years Nathanael would indeed witness great things like the lame walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, and even the dead rising to life again. Nathanael would see the seas calmed, water become wine, and thousands fed with just a few biscuits and fish. Living with Jesus was going to be a time of witnessing miracle after miracle. What a future was in store for Nathanael!
But that isn’t all that Jesus was speaking of. He had even more planned for Nathanael, and everyone else who believes in him. Jesus was also speaking of the unbelievable wonders we will behold in heaven. That will be far more than we can begin to imagine. What a sight we will see! What a sound we will hear! What a time we will have! Heaven will be so far off the charts that we can only imagine Jesus’ words that we will see “greater things than this.”
Paul said it well when he wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). What a beautiful way to say that the best is yet to come.
You may live in a tent or a cottage,
Unnoticed by those who pass by;
But a mansion for you he is building
In that beautiful city on high.
(from “God Is Still on the Throne”)
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