God Makes All Things New
And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new'.’ (Revelation 21:5)
Rev. 21:1-7; Gen. 2:1-3; Ps. 51:10; John 19:30; II Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Col. 3:10
What Is God Saying?
God is the Author of completeness, the ‘author and finisher of our faith’ (Heb. 12:2) and of everything else. That is why our Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. In Genesis 2:1-3 we read that God finished creation. In John 19:30, Jesus finished our redemption. Heaven is where and when God will finish everything, and complete His perfect plan. There will be nothing to spoil the perfecti0n nor mar the glory of what He has in store for those who love Him: no pain of sickness, no sorrow of parting, no tears of grief, no groping for light, no burden of guilt.
That is what the final chapters of the Bible are all about. God is on the throne. God rules. Sin and death are conquered. Everything is new, eternally new. These passages are more to be appreciated than interpreted, more to be enjoyed than analyzed. It is enough for us to know that God is on the throne. The last chapter of God's Word is the first chapter of God's forever. The first chapters of the Bible tell us God made all things. The last chapters tell us God makes all things new.
How Does This Apply To Us?
The Lord said, ‘I make all things new.’ There is a glorious future before us but the blessings of Heaven can be a present treasure. ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation’ (II Cor.5: 17). The new things God makes can be now if we are in Christ. He can fill our minds with new and beautiful thoughts. He can make our hands skillful in doing new and worthwhile things for Him and others. He can cleanse our cluttered, burdened hearts and fill them with new hope, new desires, and new peace. Let the Lord, who makes all things new, make all things new for us, beginning now and ending never! That is what Heaven will be. That is what now can be. God is waiting for one thing, our decision. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock’ (Rev. 3:20).
Pray With Me
Lord, You are both the judge and the lover of My Soul. As You alone can condemn, so You alone can save. Let mercy flow from Your throne of power, filling my whole being until, as with the rising of the tide, I am lifted from darkness to light. Lord, I believe You will ‘make all things new.’ Cleanse my mind with Your truth, commission my hands in Your service, and fill my heart with Your love.
To the praise of Your glory. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Wouldn't it be great if we could come to prayer with open-eyed wonder as one at sea might scan the horizon for a new land? Prayer will take on new meaning for all of us if we come expecting that the One who makes all things new will change a drab routine into a new, perhaps an exciting ... certainly a refreshing, experience in the daily living of "now".
