All These Things Are Gone Forever

December 19, 2014

All These Things Are Gone Forever

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.

Revelation 21:4

I am writing this on another morning when terrorists have again inflicted pain, suffering and death on innocents. In Australia, folks out for a cup of coffee with friends, and school children in Pakistan found their world suddenly turned upside down. Just a short while ago, inconveniences, ailments and other matters in my life seemed so urgent; now they have paled to insignificance. Just a few days ago I was celebrating my oldest grandchild’s graduation from college. Today, I cringe at the thought of what the world may be like in fourteen years when my youngest grandchild starts college. If it were not for Christmas, I could easily find myself weighed down with pessimism and a sense of hopelessness for the future of our world.

But Christmas is a reality that changed the world forever. Christmas doesn’t mean there will be no suffering, discouragement, disappointment, frustration or even death. Christmas means that the Kingdom of God will conquer all the forces that work against the fulfillment of God’s eternal promises. All these forces may impede me now, but they cannot separate me from the everlasting love of God in Christ Jesus. Nor can they follow me into the eternal Kingdom of God.

Christmas means I can experience the presence of my Abba Father in my life now and forever, and Christmas means there is a time coming when God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. For many, these two truths of God may not seem like much in the stark reality of terrorists slaughtering children. Even so, I haven’t encountered anything that remotely compares with living in the Apostle Paul’s benediction:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (NRSV)

 

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.