…THAT ENDS WELL
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.”
Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV)
There are two sayings that are related. The first one is: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The second one is: A face only a mother could love. (Side note: There is an offshoot to this that says you have a face only a moose could love.) What do these sayings have in common? The value of the thing being looked upon is determined by the beholder or the person who is doing the looking. What is beauty to you? Your spouse? Your children? The ocean? Nature? Whatever it is, how does looking upon it make you feel? How does it stir you on the inside?
I was recently blessed with being able to see the Northern Lights. I have never seen the sky look the way it did that night. Colors that are hard to describe. The feelings and emotions I experienced are hard to describe. I have pictures and videos of this experience. I can show them to you, but as the saying goes, the pictures don’t do it justice. Why is that? Because the actual experience affects all our senses in ways that go beyond them. What does that mean?
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has placed eternity in our hearts. We have a sense that there is more to this world than just this world. We have a sense of eternity, but it isn’t quite clear yet. The book of Revelation gives us a sense of how this world will end and how the new heaven and new earth will appear. And when this world is gone, and a new earth and heaven are created, we get the indescribable gift of eternity with God!
APPLICATION: Spend a few minutes with God asking Him to make you more aware of the eternity that has been placed in your heart. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you more and more. Ask Him to create a hunger in you to know more about Him.
PRAYER: Father, thank You for making all things new! Amen.
"… Our Father in heaven…" Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
• What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
"… may your name be kept holy." Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
• What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
"May your Kingdom come soon." Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
• Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
"Give us today the food we need," Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
• Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I'm around today?
"and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us" Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
• Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
"And don't let us yield to temptation…" Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
• Is there anywhere I'm vulnerable to temptation?