“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more. Isa. 65:17–19 (ESV)
Heavenly Father, I love meditating through the Servant Songs of Isaiah during Advent, because they remind us that the birth of Jesus wasn’t a “merry little” event. Christmas represents the fulfillment of promises of immeasurable proportions and inconceivable delight. It’s no exaggeration to say that every Christmas is colossal, humongous, and magnificent —irrespective of the economy or circumstances.
As Isaiah chronicled with great joy, with the first coming of Jesus, you inaugurated your plan to resurrect and restore our broken world. Though it will take Jesus’ second coming to complete the story, “the new heavens and new earth” will be our eternal home—a place in which every semblance of sin and brokenness will be gone, and “the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more.” Hasten that Day, Lord.
And you will populate this perfect world of peace and joy with an every-nation family—daughters and sons of the gospel, your beloved children in whom you find great delight and over whom you rejoice with singing. The gospel really is this big and this glorious. All of history is defined by your commitment to redeem your family and make all things new through Jesus. What peace, what joy, and what a story we get to live in and live out!
Because of Jesus’ first Advent, all our sins have already been wiped away; and at his Second Advent, all of our tears, likewise, will be wiped away as well. And, hallelujah, all the pain associated with those tears will be fully redeemed and healed. Until that Day, Father, free us to live and love to your glory—gratefully and expectantly. So very Amen we pray, with great joy and fresh hope, in Jesus’ exalted name.
