And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4 KJV
Context and Charge:
A time is coming when all that we see and know now will be gone. The familiar and the earthly will give way to the eternal. The chapter from which today's verse is taken makes reference to a new heaven and a new earth, with no more sea. If God has been found to be true in other things he has said, be rest assured that this is also true and will come to pass. Think of this for a moment: new heaven and a new earth means that there are things from the old heaven and the old earth that will not have a place in the new heaven and the new earth. A few of those things are sorrow, death, crying or pain. How that will work is not yet very clear to me, but the expectation of a life without the constant pressure of pressure, pain and death is something to look forward to.
How do I get to be a part of this new heaven and new earth? It is clear that a lot of the old way of doing things in the old earth cannot be sustained in the new earth. If death was part of the old earth, and is not part of the new earth, it means that the cause of death cannot be a part of the new earth. As the bible has made very clear, the wages of sin is death. If I will gain the new earth, I must avoid sin at all cost. It does not matter how much the present world excuses sin; God's view of sin has not changed since the days of Adam, and as we know, God's view does not need man's approval or applause in order for it to be enforced by Him. I have a duty, for the sake of my eternal rest, to be sure that my pursuits and priorities line up with God's.
Conviction and Conclusion:
Just know and be comforted by this: God created all things, including this current heaven and earth, and they answer to Him. If He says that they will pass away, I must be careful of the things I hold on to very dearly. What would it profit me if what I consider as important down here has no value in the new heaven and earth? All that I see now will one day go out with the old; I must seek the things that are relevant to the new earth. At the top of that list is the new life, birthed and sustained by faith in the one by whom all things in this present heaven and earth were created. Do not settle for the temporary thrills of the old; strive for the benefits and blessings of the new. Eternity is too long a time not to know where you will spend it. God's time of favour is here.
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