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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. Rev. 21:1 (NIV)

Lord Jesus, this one verse is pregnant with hope, beauty, and joy. Thank you for securing a future for us that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has any mind imagined the wonder of our coming life in the new heaven as new earth.

As surely as the waters cover the sea, so will the knowledge of your glory cover the earth one Day (Hab. 2:14). Our longings for that Day intensify daily, Jesus… make that, hourly. May the faint smell of the grass of the new earth become a transforming aroma in our hearts.

We are grateful to be in a story of restoration, not replacement. You aren’t making all new things, Jesus. You’re making all things new. Nobody’s “nuclear button” is going to annihilate the world you created and love, sustain and will restore.

Indeed, the “sea-less” future of John’s vision isn’t a “beach-less” world, but a world in which all brokenness and heartache, sin and evil will be gone forever. Hallelujah! Not only will lambs and wolves lay down together, but dolphin and sharks will swim together. “killer whales” will become kind whales.

But even more so, your every-nation Bride will love perfectly, as you love us, Jesus. All rancor, meanness, and madness will be gone forever. Soon, Lord, please soon. We can hardly wait for the Day when we hear “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea,” and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!‘” (Rev. 5:13).

It’s hard to imagine a world of perfect peace and inviolate shalom, but that’s our inheritance and future, all because of what you’ve done for us, Jesus. May this hope encourage us to engage our broken culture, not retreat from it. Fill us with missional hope and neighbor-love, Jesus, as we seek first your kingdom, and long for your return. So very Amen we pray, with piqued longings and great joy, in your kind and powerful name.

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