“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
(Revelation 21:4-5)
Throughout the alleged COVID pandemic, we heard mainstream media outlets chant the phrase, “the new normal.” Its meaning was clear. Even as the pandemic subsided, we should not imagine that we would return to life as we once knew it. Rather, we ought to get used to increased government regulations, restrictions, and surveillance. Enough common folk around the world, however, banded together to declare publicly their rejection of, and resistance to, this dystopian “new normal.” We praise God that their efforts put enough pressure on government officials that most of our freedoms have returned. Even so, our return to the “old normal” still leaves a lot to be desired. Even if our government decided to rule with complete wisdom, honesty, and moral uprightness (hard to imagine, I know!) we would still struggle with very hard things in this life. No amount of government intervention can prevent the eventual loss of our loved ones. Since the fall of man, death has become “the way of all the earth” (Joshua 23:14; 1 Kings 2:2). No human government, despite its best efforts, can reasonably hope to cancel all sorrow, crying, and pain. These hateful, objectionable things have plagued us since original man’s willful rebellion against the wise rule of God (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). Now, “normal” human existence entails continually trying to navigate around all kinds of hurtful, harmful things in the world. No matter who we are, however, or how careful and discerning we try to be, sooner or later we will experience pain, trouble, sorrow, and loss. How good it is to know that this current “normal” is not permanent. As today’s verse passage reminds us, God has chosen a future day in which His created order will be radically transformed. Death, sorrow, crying, and pain will become ever distant, shadowy memories (Isaiah 65:17). Those who struggle with temptation and personal sin will struggle no more. No more will they mourn over poor choices they have made nor will they stress over the inevitability of sinning again. The One Who is faithful and true (Revelation 19:11) has guaranteed that our future “new normal” is going to be saturated in glory and blessings that defy human comprehension (1 Corinthians 2:9). Transformed into Christ’s own likeness, God’s people will be confirmed in righteousness and holiness (Revelation 22:11b). The Lord’s redeemed will at long last enjoy complete satisfaction that shall persist into eternity (Psalm 17:15). Hallelujah and Maranatha!
God bless and encourage you today,
Pastor John
English