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.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:4-5
Dear Jesus, I’ve never longed for the Day of “no more death” more so than today. It’s a source of immeasurable comfort to know this promise is trustworthy and true, for your death was the death of death, Jesus. Indeed, Jesus, you are making all things new. Your resurrection is the guarantee and firstfruits of a whole new order. Decay and death… in every form… will be gone forever. Hasten that Day, Jesus, hasten that Day.
No more picking out of caskets for loved ones. No more compost piles of yesterday’s bouquets. No more walking to divorce court with broken friends. No more taking a chain saw to a favorite, but diseased, shade tree. No more death of innocence. No more life robbing cancers. No more burying of unrealized dreams. No thoughts of ending one’s life. No more environmental disasters. No more dentist chairs. No more unborn children. No more emotional homicide, friend to friend. No more need for urban renewal. No longer the heartache of “putting down” a beloved pet.
Jesus, this is the first day in nearly sixteen years I wake up minus a faithful little friend. The void is great and the tears are many. Luther had it right. Some of the greatest companions you give us in life are our pets. I praise you for the gift that Megan was. I never dreamed a Yorkshire Terrier could have been such a declaration of your glory. It is so true, Jesus, the things you have made is a revelation of the God that you are. O, that I might love you the way this little dog loved us.
A part of me is embarrassed for feeling so sad. The other part says, “Go for it. Let yourself go. Grieve the loss… grieve the ugliness of death that you might advocate for the promise of life… resurrection life—eternal life.” Surely, that’s the way of the gospel, Jesus. That’s what I choose.
So as you wipe my tears, please fuel my hope and focus my gaze. Death is defeated but not yet annihilated. Decay will be no more, but not yet. Send us forth as your people, Jesus, into the valley of the shadow of death with a glimpse of the first sunrise in the new heaven and new earth. It’s supposed to feel like hurt and hope at the same time.
You will make the written saying true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). You are the grave robber, Jesus. Our labors in you are not in vain. So very Amen, we pray, in your trustworthy and triumphant name.
