“…they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” vss. 3b-4
Revelation 21:1-6
As John comes to the close of his vision, he leaves us with words that resonate with every person who has ever walked the face of the earth. In the new creation, he boldly asserts, “death will be no more,” and we breathe a collective sigh of relief. Oh, how good it will be to live without our enemy stealing away our loved ones and stalking us through every time and season. Whether we like to admit it or not, for one reason or another, death is never far from our minds. Of course, most have learned not to dwell on it–that morbid fascination will destroy our experience of the beautiful life that God has given us. But still it hangs there, hiding in the closets of our unconscious, poking its head out periodically as we age, presumably to remind us that it’s waiting. Followers of Jesus have learned not to pay much attention to those glimpses. We know that death is a defeated enemy and so when death does come close, in our obstinate way we choose to celebrate life and use John’s words as a source of comfort and hope. One day, mourning and pain will disappear, and death itself will be no more.
Thought for the Day: What will the new life be like?
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