Christ-mass Meditation #3: Final Sale
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling place of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" - Revelation 21:3 and 4
...for the old order of things has passed away.
This is the ultimate end of salvation and redemption. The story begins with creation, and is punctuated by sin, failure, hope, disappointment, and frustration. God, as Jesus Christ, breaks through into our human place and time at Christmas, and begins the story again. John the Revelator gives us a glimpse of the final sale: we are restored to what we were originally created for: love and fellowship with God.
This Christmas may be a time of happiness for you. If it is, rejoice even more knowing the happiness you experience now is small compared to what God offers. If it is a time of sadness or regret, take hope from knowing the final chapter has not been written, that you can still have a better outcome with God than you could ever have without Him. He still holds open the door of possibility for you.
God knows our pain, more deeply than any politician or friend. His promise to "wipe every tear from our eyes" is one of the most precious found in scripture. His promise to make all things new, to remove this "old order" and replace it with something beautiful and perfected, sustains and encourages beyond any prize we could have on Earth.
"He who was seated on the throne said 'I am making everything new.'" --Revelation 21:5
...for the old order of things has passed away.
This is the ultimate end of salvation and redemption. The story begins with creation, and is punctuated by sin, failure, hope, disappointment, and frustration. God, as Jesus Christ, breaks through into our human place and time at Christmas, and begins the story again. John the Revelator gives us a glimpse of the final sale: we are restored to what we were originally created for: love and fellowship with God.
This Christmas may be a time of happiness for you. If it is, rejoice even more knowing the happiness you experience now is small compared to what God offers. If it is a time of sadness or regret, take hope from knowing the final chapter has not been written, that you can still have a better outcome with God than you could ever have without Him. He still holds open the door of possibility for you.
God knows our pain, more deeply than any politician or friend. His promise to "wipe every tear from our eyes" is one of the most precious found in scripture. His promise to make all things new, to remove this "old order" and replace it with something beautiful and perfected, sustains and encourages beyond any prize we could have on Earth.
"He who was seated on the throne said 'I am making everything new.'" --Revelation 21:5
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