Some who believe in Jesus think that their path is a free ticket or pass to an easy, carefree life. Their faith is usually shaken to the core when life's struggles come their way. It is through our willingness to be persecuted or suffer - without self-pity or complaining - that we are transformed and made ready for the kingdom of God. People suffer in different ways, and some appear to have it easier than others. But one thing is clear: we all learn the lessons God places before us. Never pray for a life completely free of struggle, for such a life would not have much to teach us.

God makes all things new. In the vision from Revelation, we are given a peek at the distant future when God will be so close to us that death and weeping will vanish. That is God's dream, but it is still far off on the horizon. In the meantime, we continue our journey. Jesus gave us a valuable tool to help us on the journey - a 'new' commandment to love one another with the same intensity, compassion, and care with which Jesus loves us. Not only does this make the journey of life easier to bear, but also a lot more fruitful. God is love, and the more we guide our lives by love, the closer to God and the New Jerusalem we will be.