REVELATION 21:1-5 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
THEME OF THE DAY: SOMEDAY IT WILL END. Take a guess how many people sitting in the pews with us in our churches are hurting physically, emotionally and spiritually? What about in our families? Neighborhoods? On the job? Allow me to answer those questions by an old Chinese proverb.
There was a mother whose only son suddenly died. Grief and sorrow blanketed her with a heaviness she could not handle. She went to a wise Chinese philosopher asking him, “Can you bring my son back to life? My pain of loss is unbearable. I miss him so much.” He replied, “Yes, I may if you meet one condition. With a flicker of hope she listened. The philosopher said, “I want to you to go into all the local villages and find one home in which human sorrow, grief, pain, and loss have not visited there.” Eagerly she departed, certain she would find at least one. House to house and home to home she went, and with each one, there was a tale of sorrow, grief, pain, and loss. Onward she went, and the same result was shared. She began to understand the lesson the wise philosopher was teaching her. She returned to him and stated, “I understand. There is no one free from sorrow, grief, pain and loss in this life. Yes, I understand.”
So, the answer to my questions in the opening paragraph is simple – every person hurts in this life. Why? The reality of life in this world being painful is because of sin. And it is this reality that makes the gospel of the Lord Jesus so comforting and powerful. It brings hope and assures us someday all this will end. It also propels us to go to all the hurting people around us with the truth as it is in Jesus. What a glorious God who gave us such a glorious gospel through His glorious Son!
Soon, tired believer. Soon, suffering saint. Soon, weary warrior of Jesus. All of the sorrows, pain, and misery of living in a fallen world will be gone. Think often on that day. Such thinking will help us live today with joy despite our trials and compel us to go into the world with the great news of Jesus!
PRAYER: “Father, help me see beyond the pain in this world to the eternal happiness in the next.”
QUOTE: “Soon this life will be over with all its pain and sorrow. And we shall be in the land of endless joy.”