By David ReayMonday 23 Nov 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Revelation 21:1-4
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (NLT)
Followers of Jesus hope for lots of things. Some come to pass, others do not. This life has so many variables, so much ambiguity. We can’t presume on much apart from the overall faithfulness of God. And even that comes to us in strange ways which are hard to understand. Our hope is real and yet puzzling.
The one thing we can be absolutely sure of is that when we draw our last breath we will enjoy the new heavens and the new earth. There is much waiting and much longing and even much pain before that time, but it will certainly come. And when it comes, there will be no more longing because our desires are fulfilled. No more waiting because all of life will be ours. No more pain because we and all creation are perfected. Satan will have gone for good.
Let C. S. Lewis describe our hope in the meantime: “At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in.”
Blessings
David Reay