All Things New

Scripture — Revelation 21:1-6 (NRSV)

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. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
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.”

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.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Devotion

I’ve been a Christian for 62 years. During these six decades, I’ve read through the Bible several times, sometimes because it was required in school or for my ordination exams, sometimes out of a desire to know God more deeply and truly. I’ve also been honored to teach the Bible in a variety of settings, including classes in college, seminary, and dozens of churches. Plus, as you may know, I’ve written well over 3,000 devotions, each one based on a passage of Scripture.

I’m telling you these things not to brag about my biblical knowledge, but to give you some context for what I’m about to say. Here it goes: Every time I read Revelation 21:1-6, I am blown away. My mind is stretched and stunned. My heart is moved. I think I have cried more when reading this passage than any other passage in the whole Bible. (Yes, it happened again today.)

So, I should explain why I react so strongly to Revelation 21:1-6.

First, I am consistently amazed by the vision of the future found in this passage. I grew up with the idea that in the future God was going to blow up the physical universe and take our souls to heaven. I don’t know where I learned this, but I certainly believed it. Revelation 21 tells a very different story, however. Here, it’s true that “the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (21:1). But God did not wipe out the universe. Rather, God sent “the new Jerusalem” from heaven to earth. God’s future – our future – is on earth, not in some faraway heaven.

This does not mean, however, that “God is watching us from a distance,” as the popular song once put it. Rather, “the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their god; and they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them” (21:3). The God who reigns over heaven and earth will come to be with us. We will be God’s peoples, God’s children, God’s beloved. We will know God intimately and eternally. How amazing!

But the amazement doesn’t stop there. When God comes to dwell with us on earth, “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” (21:4). This is the passage that, ironically, regularly moves me to tears. But my tears aren’t the sort that express mourning and crying and pain. Rather, they are tears of compassion, tears of longing, tears of hopefulness, tears of anticipatory gratitude. Every time I read this verse, I picture people I know who are mourning. I think of the millions of people in our world who are suffering from poverty and injustice. Today, I’m picturing a dear friend who is in the last hours of his life, who will soon leave behind his wife, family, and friends. Though I know my friend will soon experience unspeakable joy, his loved ones will mourn and cry. Oh, how I yearn for the day when God will wipe away their tears.

I find this language to be especially poignant and moving. God could just send a wind that dries up our tears. Or our tears could magically disappear without any obvious divine effort. But what Revelation envisions is God acting in tenderness like a loving mother, drawing near to wipe away our tears. Such intimacy and compassion in this image! Yes, our tears will be gone. But, along the way, God will be with us, showing empathy and kindness.

Verse 5 is, for me, one of the most astounding verses in all of Scripture. In this verse, “the one who was seated on the throne” says, “See, I am making all things new.” God is not wiping out all things. God is not replacing all things with other things. Rather, God is taking the existing things, the old things, the broken things, the unjust things, all the things of this present age, and making them new. The same God who once made the world to be “very good” will remake the world, restoring all that is broken and lost.

You and I are among the “all things” that will be renewed. Once more, this truth astonishes and delights me. I am so aware of ways in which I am in need of renewal. Yes, my 68-year-old body reminds me regularly that I am no longer “new.” But that’s not all. I am so aware of ways in which my heart, mind, and spirit need renewal. I know the sins that plague me, the prejudices that bind me, the fears that limit me. I also know that God is working on these things, even today. But I long for the day when God’s reclamation project with me will be finished.

In Advent, we focus on the “second coming” of Christ. It’s good and right to look forward to the day when Christ returns in glory. But we should keep in mind that this isn’t the end of all things. Rather, it’s the beginning of new things. The next “advent” of Jesus will inaugurate the age to come, when God dwells with us, when God wipes away all tears, and when God makes all things new. Oh, what a time that will be! Come, Lord Jesus!

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Babylon and the New Jerusalem: A Tale of Two Cities (Revelation 17-22).