PBPC Advent Devotional, Week 1 - Thursday
Week One – Hope
Thursday
Revelation 21:1-5
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 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."
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." (NRSV)
John describes the coming of the King to earth on the day of the Lord as like a Bridegroom coming to collect his bride. A time of great joy and celebration. And the Bridegroom will 'make all things new.'
Let your imagination dream about what a completely 'new' earth, renewed as the kingdom of God, might be like. What goodness and beauty continue? What grief and pain are gone?
Daily Practice
Dig out some pictures of a wedding you attended, maybe your own, maybe another's. Recall the joy. Reflect on how God's love for you has the intensity of a newlywed's. Thank God that you are a member of his wedding party.
