Word of the Week: Revelation 21:1–5
January 2, 2020
“Grace will have its way.”
My best friend and I texted this word of encouragement to each other three weeks ago. It had been a rough weekend for him and his wife as they had just taken in two very young foster kids, days before Christmas. Amidst the stress, confusion, health concerns, and complexities of caring for two little ones, I saw not only him and his wife, but also their own children rise to the occasion. Their aim: to show Christ’s love in a dire situation. It had already been terribly trying, but the Lord had given them this opportunity they had longed for and prayed for, for many years. The stress levels were high, but one thing rang true in the midst of the chaos: Grace was having inroads in the lives of these two precious children.
I stopped by yesterday, played with the little ones, and caught up with my dear friends. Well, as much as one can, while trying to keep up with two energetic kids, anyway! And words alone can’t accurately describe the love, patience, tenderness, and healing that was on full display, right before my eyes. What a powerful picture of grace to behold!
I share this, because we live in a world frenzied with sin and its effects. And sometimes, we are blind toward God’s grace at work in the world. The weights of brokenness, not belonging, and shame due to sin are only amplified in the midst of our culture’s proclivity to busyness, seeking good apart from God, and trying to seek some form of “salvation” apart from Christ. Peace is desired. Wholeness, healing, and justice are longed for. But God’s grace in the gospel of Christ will alone bring such things.
Our passage from this Sunday, Revelation 21:1–5, announces to us this truth: Christ will make all things new. His kingdom will spread from shore to shore. His peace will be felt. The wholeness, healing, and justice that our hearts long for will meet us as surely as he will dwell with us as our God before our very eyes.
In fact, in this glory land which will come to fruition soon, the Lord our God will wipe every tear from our eyes by his own hand (Rev 21:4). The abused will be loved. The misunderstood will be heard. The emotionally wounded will be healed. The fearful will be stilled. God’s people who have been redeemed from sin will experience the fulness of his deliverance to the uttermost.
At the last, Grace will have its way. But even now, we can catch glimpses of God’s work in the world all around us, bringing many sons and daughters to glory, transforming lives by the power of the gospel, and calling men and women into a kingdom that cannot be shaken. So my encouragement to us as a church is to keep our eyes opened. Anticipate glory, yes, but also be so enamored with God’s grace that you cannot help but see it in front of you as he works his sovereign will and brings his kingdom of grace to completion here on earth.
