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29 March Thursday, 2001

God and Us: No More Fuss

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Today's Passage / [Revelation 21:1-8]

1 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.

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4 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."

5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Main Verse

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3

REFLECTION

Climbing the glorious Mount Halla of Cheju Island to search for the coveted wild spotted purple orchid is not only a lifelong mission for the locals that live there but it also became mine as I frequented that beautiful Island. However, the advantage that I had over the others was that I had already encountered this rare plant once with my uncle when I was a young boy. I remember how my uncle specifically marked its location. Nearly a decade later, I asked him to once again make a journey to the "orchid Mecca," so that we could be with these lovely, rare flowers. So we headed off into the misty woods. My original plan was to locate the orchids and spend the whole day in the mountains just relaxing with them.

As we headed toward the land of the orchids, we faced many obstacles. "Man-eating" mosquitoes, slippery rocks, and trails that were washed away, all hindered the success of our original plan. Our plans were thwarted and we were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, this did not discourage our desire. We got up the next day, laced our new mountain boots, sprayed heavy mosquito repellent, and got out our compass. Although it took a long time, nothing could discourage us from striving towards our goal.

In a way, this story is similar to God's redemptive plan. God's original plan was to fully dwell with his people (such was the case before the fall of Adam and Eve), but our sin severed our relationship with Him. Yet this does not hinder God from accomplishing His original plan to ultimately liven in a "face to face" relationship with His people once again! He sent His Son so that we could be reconciled with Him here on earth. He also promises believers that when "New Jerusalem," is established; He will again dwell and live with his people. Today's key passage beautifully reveals this promise: "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" (21:3-4). Our passage once again reminds us that the time is coming when God's original plan will come to fruition and we will reap the ultimate blessing of living with God.

DAILY PRAYER

Father, allow the idea of being with You forever in heaven become a reality even while I live my life here on earth. May the struggles that I face become bearable issues when placed in light of what is to come. Help me to find joy and hope in Your second coming. May I continue to pray that you will come soon and take me home. My desire is to have an unhindered relationship with you forever. Amen.

APPLICATION

Ask yourself this question, "Do you want to be with God?" Think of all the wonderful reasons why that would be so good. Many are discouraged when they think about their situations here on earth. They feel that their life on earth is the ends to their means. Children of God, this is not true! Earth is just a visiting place for us. As Paul states, we are just strangers that are passing by. Our real home is heaven. So the next time you are boggled down by the affairs of this world, when things just seem to not go right with various relationship (including your relationship with God), when you are down and out and just feel like you want to quit, I encourage you to lighten up! A time is coming when all of these things will pass away and only two things will remain, "God and Us." This is the perfect combination that brings meaning to our existence. Apply this truth to your everyday situations. Encourage yourself and others that are going through difficult times by recalling this beautiful situation that is about to take place. I guarantee that as a result, the harsh situations of life will become more bearable when you remind yourself that soon, we will have no more crying and that we will go home to our wonderful heavenly Daddy who will carry us in his arms forever.

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