“I Am Making All Things New”
Revelation 21:4-5 (NIV)
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!”
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” We cannot outrun or avoid death. It is a certainty. We will all lose people in our life, and we will all die. The death rate is still 100%. And with death comes loss, sadness, grief, mourning because we miss their presence with us.
And yet, at the end of the book of Revelation we get a glimpse of God’s end game. It is to create a new heaven and earth, one in which there is no longer mourning, or crying, or pain, because there is no more death. Death itself will die, and God’s children will live forever in God’s glorious presence.
When we are experiencing grief or the pains and burdens of being in this present world, which is still under the curse, we need to remember that this is not our home. This is not our forever reality, it is only a temporary one, until we are welcomed into our eternal home, which the Son is preparing for us (John 14:1-4).
We know this because Jesus rose from the dead, and he is alive. He is the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20). He conquered sin and death so they no longer have mastery over those who believe and receive by faith that Jesus did this for us. And now we have this hope, even in the midst of our pain and grief, knowing this will one day pass, as he will “make all things new.”
Do you have an assurance of this? You can know this is true for you when you trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit confirms in our spirit that we are a child of God (Rom. 8:16). If you don’t have this assurance, first ask, do I truly believe in my heart what Jesus did for me (Rom. 10:9)? And if you can affirm that, pray for the Holy Spirit to give you an assurance in your heart that you are a child of God and have received all his promises so that you will have a peace that passes all understanding.