Song of Solomon 4-5
Galatians 3
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Revelation 21:1-2
What does the future look like? John paints a vivid picture for us, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe 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 21:3-4).
This is the future that Jesus has gone to prepare for us—a future of no more pain, sorrow, disease, sin and evil. This is not some heavenly ethereal spiritual future of disembodied souls, heavenly mansions and streets of gold; this is an earthly, material, physical future where there is full flourishing in every aspect of life. The exciting part is when the trumpet sounds, Jesus will return to bring that future to reality. Yet, how do we proactively orient ourselves towards this future?
As followers of Jesus, we are to look out at the sin, the brokenness and the injustice of our world, and grieve, wail, lament, cry out and, when we see the part we played, repent. When we have a godly desire for the future that God intended to come into the present, we orient our energies, money, time and talents to seeing that end come about. Not only does this future hope put justice and righteousness into their proper place, it also puts evangelism into its proper place. For in light of that spiritual, ethereal, heavenly future, heavenly mansions and streets of gold, evangelism often sounds like a sales pitch for a divine insurance policy. But Revelation 19:9 tells us, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” In other words, evangelism is actually an invitation.
If we are more right-leaning in our Christian sensibilities, we may be thinking this is an invitation to obedience, to live in step with the commands of God, a life of integrity with our money, body and time. However, if we are more left-leaning in our Christian sensibilities, we may be thinking this is an invitation to press into matters of kingdom justice to ensure that the conditions are present in our world where all can flourish equally.
May we not separate into left and right what the Scriptures hold together. For the future that we are anticipating is one where we will be made new and transformed into His likeness and our entire cosmos will be filled with His shalom, flourishing in every aspect of life.
Dear Jesus, thank You for the joy of the future when I will be made new and transformed into Your likeness and the whole world will be filled with Your shalom. For now, please give me the boldness and courage to invite others into this future with You.
Galatians 3
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Revelation 21:1-2
What does the future look like? John paints a vivid picture for us, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe 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 21:3-4).
This is the future that Jesus has gone to prepare for us—a future of no more pain, sorrow, disease, sin and evil. This is not some heavenly ethereal spiritual future of disembodied souls, heavenly mansions and streets of gold; this is an earthly, material, physical future where there is full flourishing in every aspect of life. The exciting part is when the trumpet sounds, Jesus will return to bring that future to reality. Yet, how do we proactively orient ourselves towards this future?
As followers of Jesus, we are to look out at the sin, the brokenness and the injustice of our world, and grieve, wail, lament, cry out and, when we see the part we played, repent. When we have a godly desire for the future that God intended to come into the present, we orient our energies, money, time and talents to seeing that end come about. Not only does this future hope put justice and righteousness into their proper place, it also puts evangelism into its proper place. For in light of that spiritual, ethereal, heavenly future, heavenly mansions and streets of gold, evangelism often sounds like a sales pitch for a divine insurance policy. But Revelation 19:9 tells us, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” In other words, evangelism is actually an invitation.
If we are more right-leaning in our Christian sensibilities, we may be thinking this is an invitation to obedience, to live in step with the commands of God, a life of integrity with our money, body and time. However, if we are more left-leaning in our Christian sensibilities, we may be thinking this is an invitation to press into matters of kingdom justice to ensure that the conditions are present in our world where all can flourish equally.
May we not separate into left and right what the Scriptures hold together. For the future that we are anticipating is one where we will be made new and transformed into His likeness and our entire cosmos will be filled with His shalom, flourishing in every aspect of life.
Dear Jesus, thank You for the joy of the future when I will be made new and transformed into Your likeness and the whole world will be filled with Your shalom. For now, please give me the boldness and courage to invite others into this future with You.
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