3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold,
the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will
be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe
away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have
passed away.”
When the new heaven and earth shall own the Prince of
Peace, their King, And the whole world send back the song which now the angels
sing.
When the angels first sang about peace on earth and
goodwill to all men, the shepherds must have wondered what was going on. They
certainly didn’t hear angelic choirs everyday, and first century Palestine was
hardly a peaceful place. The streets buzzed with rumors of revolution and the
tension often boiled over into violence. Society was split along lines of
gender, race, wealth, and religion. The shepherds themselves were only a few
rungs above beggars on the social ladder. For some of us, Christmas itself is a
time to be with friends and family, but for others it reminds us that we are
alone or separated from loved ones. Two thousand years later, we seem to be as
far as ever from “heaven on earth.”
Many people in the first century were expecting a quick fix
for the world’s problems, and of course that didn’t happen. It still hasn’t
happened. But Christmas reminds us of God’s promise to bring in a kingdom where
wars, injustice, and even death will be a thing of the past, and where we will
live together with God. That’s our hope. God does have a plan. The best really
is to come.
In the meantime, God continues to show His love to us in so
many ways. He provides for our needs. He answers our prayers. He invites us to
start living today like citizens of the kingdom that has not yet been fully
revealed. We can love one another as Christ loved us here and now. We can show
His compassion and His unconditional love to others today. We can experience a
foretaste of the new Heaven and earth right now. We can share that experience
with others. And we can do all this in the knowledge that God’s Kingdom will
prevail and that the whole of creation will one day see the truth that those
shepherds heard on a remote, Palestinian hillside.
What one thing could you change to give those around you a
foretaste of God’s Kingdom of peace?
Dear Lord, help us to show Your compassion and His unconditional
love to others today and this Christmas Season. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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