Will the whole world be renewed someday? - Beginnings - TouchPoints
Mark 10:28-31Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”
Jesus made it clear that following him would result in benefits not only in this world but also in a world that is still coming. Passages like Revelation 21:1-5 (below) indicate that we should be looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth in which Jesus has promised us eternal life. There all the brokenness and evil brought about by sin will be gone, and everything will receive a fresh start.
Romans 8:19-22All creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
The world is much bigger than us humans. We are part of a larger created order that has been seriously damaged by our sinfulness. Since all Creation belongs to God and we have been made stewards of it, we remain responsible to do what we can to care for all that God has placed under us. We can demonstrate how much we anticipate the world to come by treating this world well, waiting for the day when it, like us, will be made glorious.
Revelation 21:1-5I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 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.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
In the end God will make all things new for those who have believed in him. Notice what this fresh start includes:
- a new Creation made perfect and beautiful
- a new experience of God making his home among people
- a new life completely without the symptoms of sin—tears, sorrow, grief, and death