August 5
August 5
As children of God, we are marching toward the new heavens and the new earth, where every last effect of sin will be erased forever.
The Bible is honest about the sorry condition of this fallen world, but it doesn’t leave us sad or without hope. The purpose of the grand redemptive story is not to leave us in suspense, without a clue as to where this great narrative is going. Although our Lord is wise not to tell us everything—because our finite little minds could not fathom the whole body of his secret will—God does tell us where his story is going. Dotted throughout his narrative are visions of what is to come. It’s as though for brief moments God pulls back the curtain and gives us a glimpse of the glory he has planned for all who put their trust in him. This is meant to give us hope, one that purifies the way we live and motivates us to persevere through life’s most severe hardships. Parents know how difficult long trips can be for children; sometimes we show them pictures of the glories awaiting them at the end of their mobile travail. Similarly, God gives us a look at what is to come.
We find one of those curtain-pulled-back moments in Isaiah 65:
Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress. (Isa. 65:17–19)
These words describe our ultimate destination as the children of God. Let me point out three things that God promises to everyone who has been redeemed by the power of his grace.
1. God will make a new heavens and a new earth. The disastrous damage sin has done to God’s creation will be eradicated. God is going to create new heavens and a new earth, where there will be no sin, no suffering, no corrupt government, no ecological pollution, no abuse, no racism, no falsehood. Sin will be permanently defeated.
2. The former things will not be remembered. We will not be weighed down by what we experienced in our sinful past. We will live with renewed minds, free to experience the glory of our new home.
3. The sound of weeping will no longer be heard. God will dry every last tear of each of his children, and they will have no reason to weep ever again. Imagine a sorrow-free existence forever.
This is not an unreal science fiction fantasy. No, this is the promise of the Lord who, because of the glory of his perfection, cannot tell a lie. Things may be hard now, but the hardships will end and God will usher in a new order that will be more beautiful than human words can describe. You have reason to look up and persevere.