2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 says, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” This passage resulted in me spending a fair amount of time considering the phrase “eternal comfort.” To understand why, I need to provide a little background information on the two Greek words that get translated as “comfort” in this passage. Both words come from the same root, which literally is “to call near”. Because we do not have an English equivalent, translators look at the context and use a word that explains why there is a “calling near.” In the New Testament, words such as appeal, comfort, encourage/encouragement, entreat/entreaty, exhort/exhortation, and invite/invitation are likely to come from one of these two words.
In meditating on this passage, I used “calling near” instead of “comfort” and I asked myself, “Why is the first calling near an eternal calling near?” I clearly see the benefit of God calling me near while I live on earth—there are always problems, hurts, or stressors to be faced. But in heaven I will see him face to face. Won’t that be enough? Then the idea came to me that in heaven I will have a new body—a spiritual one that can see the full glory of God. Maybe that calling near will then be an invitation to come and explore the depths of who he is in a way that I cannot do here on earth. He is an infinite God; surely it will take eternity do that. To me, this is the most exciting view of heaven I have ever had.
Thinking on this passage has also helped me remember that words like comfort, encourage, or exhort are used in scripture as an invitation—either to invite others to draw near to God (if I’m called to do the action) or as a call from God for me to draw near to him (if he’s doing the action). God does not just desire to give comfort or encouragement. Instead God wants to be the comfort or encouragement I need. God is always calling me near to him. I want to embrace that call and let his Spirit draw me close, instead of seeking an alternative path.