To What Are You Looking Forward?
Good Morning Friends,
On All Saints Day, we are to join in a family celebration made possible by our Triune God. But in New York City too many have that pain in the pit of their stomach from the terror attack on innocent students and commuters returning home on a Halloween afternoon. Today is not normally a day of mourning the dead, but a day of celebrating the life we have in Christ, and a chance to look ahead at the joys before us in communion with the saints as children of God. But somehow terror takes the joy out of the moment. Still, divine love transcends time…all time…even this time as we look to a future without tears. Yes, we aspire to this holiness even in the face of evil. To What Are You Looking Forward?
Scripture: I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel: After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 (NRSV)
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3 (NRSV)
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:1-12a (NRSV)
Message: We are on a journey toward holiness and the saints are cheering us on, but I for one am not there yet and frankly the image of all the suffering is a bit discouraging. Thankfully I believe there will be a time when God shall wipe away all tears from all the saint’s eyes. Maybe we should experience the courage of that time even now as a show of victory. Friends, every one of us, and every human being on earth, is called to be a saint. And that means that we are called to be holy, set apart for God’s service. We are not called to be merely kind or popular or admired or even famous. We are not called to just avoid sin. We are called to be holy. And in this future, we hope and believe with the conviction that suffering in this life, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, will one day yield to unfathomable bliss and blessings. Friends, sorrow shall not always have the upper hand. Sure, we might get depressed and angry and be in denial of it all but a day is coming on earth when God will have removed every trace of the cause of tears. And so, I imagine all the saints across all time are praying with us and our creator, redeemer and sustainer right now in the hope for a new heaven and a new earth.
Pray for the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. Pray we all become new creatures in Christ as our King. Pray
God encourage us and sustain us in service to others as we build up the Kingdom of God. Pray we join with the saints in Spirit praising the Holy name of God. Pray in the spirit of unity for all believers across all time that have glorified God would indeed be one as Jesus prayed. Pray that even though we live in a topsy-turvy world, we keep trusting God. Pray we are equipped for sanctified living. Pray we are part of a love that lasts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 