28 February 2009

The Day of the “No More”

Today, we have sorrow.

Psalm 31:9-10 “Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”

Today, we grow frail.

2 Corinthians 4:16 “....outwardly we are wasting away....”

Today, we have pain.

1 Peter 2:19 “For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.”

Today, we have hardships.

2 Corinthians 1:8 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.”

Today, we struggle with sin.

Romans 7:18 “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

Today, we face death.

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die....”

But one day, these things will be no more.

One day, there will be no more sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord— the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.

One day, we will possess a new body.

Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

One day, we will never suffer pain again.

Revelation 21:4 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.”

One day, there will be no more hardships.

Revelation 22:2-3 On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

One day, we will have no sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

One day, we will never die.

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Today will close, and become tomorrow. But one day, there will be no more today or tomorrow, but only the day that lasts forever—the day of the no more.

Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God....Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:13-17)