New Heavens and a New Earth

Isaiah 65: 17

See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Memory is a tricky thing. Several people can experience the same event and have quite different, even conflicting, memories of it. I see this when discussing past events with family members; we all remember different details.  For example, we recently discussed family Christmas memories with our daughters and granddaughters. They remember from a child’s perspective while we remember from a parent’s perspective. One might think we were not all at the same event!

In this verse, however, the prophet is telling us that former things will not be remembered – at all! Our human experiences will not matter in God’s perfect kingdom. All our sorrow, pain, and suffering, as well as our happy times, will be irrelevant in God’s new creation.

I try to imagine a perfect new heavens and earth. A world without pain and suffering seems like a great idea; man’s abuse of one another and the natural world will end. Harmony and agape love will replace conflict and selfishness. However each of us imagines the new heaven and earth, it certainly seems far better than the world in which we now live.

Where does that leave us in the present, as we live in an imperfect world in which we do experience injustice, cruelty, hatred, pain, and sorrow? It is not perfect yet. In a Bible study group in which I participate we recently discussed the concept of the Kingdom of God and what we can do to bring about the Kingdom on earth. There is the world as it is now, and there is the world as it should be. We can look around us, recognize opportunities to serve others, and do our part to make the world better, if not perfect. Food ministries, homeless ministries, healthcare ministries – all these efforts on our part show others that we as followers of Christ endeavor to be His hands and feet in our imperfect world, and that, most of all, we love and serve others in His name.

Let us pray. Father, your promise of a new heavens and earth gives us hope for the future, but we recognize that you do not want us to sit and wait idly for that to happen. Give us vision to see what we can do right now right here to exemplify your love by serving and loving others.

This devotion was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.