I’m told that my first visit to the cinema was a disaster. Nothing would induce me to enter this darkened room where who knows what horrors lurked and no doubt embarrassed parents were forced to make a retreat. Thankfully my grandson Busby is made of sterner stuff. I was privileged to be present at his first visit to the cinema last Friday. Not that I would have needed that excuse to see Toy Story 4 but it was great to see it with the undisputed Best Boy In The World. And he behaved impeccably as you can see from the photo on the left. I should say that the red eyes are a photographic quirk. Actually, during the whole experience his eyes were filled with wonder. That’s the way you want it to be with First Things.
Some years ago, out on the bike on a country path I was held up by a small dog. It just stood there in the middle and would not move. It was a case of who blinks first and having had a good dose of Clint Eastwood movies I knew it would not be me. The owners arrived and were full of apologies: ‘He is only three months old. He has never seen a bike before. To him everything is new.‘ Those words stayed with me. That’s what heaven must be like. Everything is new.
The Book of Revelation can be a challenging read but to be in it is to share visions the Apostle John was given of the world to come. The veil is drawn back and we are given glimpses of the quality of life we will enjoy when Jesus’ great project is complete and the Earth is renewed. Come in John:
‘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. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. 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.” 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.”’ (Revelation 21: 1-5)
This is where the whole of human history is heading, to a place where everything that has ever made us cry is no longer part of our experience. Not long ago I was deeply moved to see someone who has had her own share of suffering wiping the tears from the face of another. This is what we have to look forward to. No more death, mourning, pain. No more reason for tears. Jesus will make everything new. Paul tells us that those who believe in Him have a foretaste of this in God’s gift of the Holy Spirit:
‘And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.’ (Ephesians 1: 13-14)
It is the Spirit who sustains us in this ‘old order of things’ where there is reason for tears. It is the Spirit who brings us through to that Kingdom where tears are a distant memory, where all things are new.
