A Christmas Carol: W3 - WED
The end of all ends Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
I’ll admit, this is one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, and I love that it comes at the end. You see, it’s a reminder to me that no matter where I am in the story of Scripture, or in the story of my life, Revelation 21 is the end of the story, of my story. Whether I’m a slave in Egypt, or on the run from the Philistines, or facing a giant, or hiding in a cave. Whether I’ve fallen exhausted in the wilderness, or stuck in the belly of a whale. Whether I’m on a hill called Calvary, or standing outside of an empty tomb, Revelation 21 is the end of the story.
The same can be said for my life now. Whether I’m recovering from an illness, or just received a terminal diagnosis. Whether I’ve lost my dream job or my dream house or my dream life. Whether I’ve just been through a divorce, the loss of a child, or am lost in an addiction, Revelation 21 can be the end of my story should I choose to believe.
And what am I choosing to believe? I’m choosing to believe that God is actually good and loving, as He has said, as He has shown. I’m choosing to believe that on my own I’ll never be good enough for the end of that story, and that I need Jesus’ life to cover mine. When I do those things, Revelation 21 isn’t just a story, it’s my story. An end that is really just the beginning.
Scripture is the story of a homeless God whose relationship with His creation has been broken, and all this same God does to restore those relationships and be back home. Throughout Scripture, these same words from Revelation 21 are repeated. Words like “I will be their God and they will be my people.” They are repeated because they are what God wants more than anything; to be at home with us as we were, “In the beginning.”
And that scene? The one where the very hand that carved the canyons and mountains of this world, gently wipes every tear from our eyes? Oh how I long for that moment. To know that finally, all is well. Finally, we are home in the hands of the One who made us and saved us. That will be a really, really, good day.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
I’ll admit, this is one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, and I love that it comes at the end. You see, it’s a reminder to me that no matter where I am in the story of Scripture, or in the story of my life, Revelation 21 is the end of the story, of my story. Whether I’m a slave in Egypt, or on the run from the Philistines, or facing a giant, or hiding in a cave. Whether I’ve fallen exhausted in the wilderness, or stuck in the belly of a whale. Whether I’m on a hill called Calvary, or standing outside of an empty tomb, Revelation 21 is the end of the story.
The same can be said for my life now. Whether I’m recovering from an illness, or just received a terminal diagnosis. Whether I’ve lost my dream job or my dream house or my dream life. Whether I’ve just been through a divorce, the loss of a child, or am lost in an addiction, Revelation 21 can be the end of my story should I choose to believe.
And what am I choosing to believe? I’m choosing to believe that God is actually good and loving, as He has said, as He has shown. I’m choosing to believe that on my own I’ll never be good enough for the end of that story, and that I need Jesus’ life to cover mine. When I do those things, Revelation 21 isn’t just a story, it’s my story. An end that is really just the beginning.
Scripture is the story of a homeless God whose relationship with His creation has been broken, and all this same God does to restore those relationships and be back home. Throughout Scripture, these same words from Revelation 21 are repeated. Words like “I will be their God and they will be my people.” They are repeated because they are what God wants more than anything; to be at home with us as we were, “In the beginning.”
And that scene? The one where the very hand that carved the canyons and mountains of this world, gently wipes every tear from our eyes? Oh how I long for that moment. To know that finally, all is well. Finally, we are home in the hands of the One who made us and saved us. That will be a really, really, good day.
- What’s one area in your life right now, one difficulty, where you need reminding about the end of the story?
- Do you believe that God is good and that He loves you more than life itself?
- What’s one thing you look forward to about the moment described above?
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