“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city (the new Jerusalem); also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:1-5
”…and they lived happily ever after.” Have you ever heard a story or watched a movie that had a bad ending? It’s hard to enjoy that story especially when you know it ends bad. Like when you are watching a movie about Abraham Lincoln…you know how it ends and it’s not good. We like stories with good endings. We like it when the bad guys get theirs and the good guys are victorious. Our story…the One story…the story of the Bible has a great ending.
The last Book of the Bible, Revelation, describes the last part of our story on this earth and where the next chapter begins. It is a story of the final restoration that has been made possible by the cross of Jesus. It is a story that ends with a final victory over sin and death. It is a story of new things to come and a re-creation of old things. It is a story of eternal life where believers enjoy a sweet relief from the trials and temptations of this world. It is a story of light and no more darkness. It is a “happily ever after”.
The description in the Scripture above sounds very familiar. It keeps us mindful of the unity of the story as a whole. The purpose of the story and the character of our God has not changed from the very beginning and throughout the Scripture and throughout our lives and…ever more! God loves us and has created us to have fellowship with Him and to live with Him forever.
Once that relationship was shattered by our own pride and selfish desires (Genesis 3), God has pursued us and done everything to bring us back home to Him. That is the message in our beloved John 3:16;
“For God (our Father) so loved the world (that means us), that He gave (on the cross) His only Son (That’s Jesus), that whosoever believes (has faith and trusts) in Him will NOT perish (no longer condemned) but have everlasting (forever) life!”
In the verses from Revelation above, we are given a glimpse of what this reconciliation looks like. It describes a place…a Paradise…a Garden of Eden…where perfect fellowship with our heavenly Father is restored. The Tree of Life that was off limits because of our sin is once again accessible in abundance! These verses describe a “healing” between nations as well as our God.
It is a future where God is the center of it all. There is no need for light, for God Himself is the Light. Therefore, there is no more darkness…no more fear…no more sorrow…no more death. These verses talk about the “throne of God and of the Lamb”. It is a reminder that we are in this wonderful place and experiencing this “happily ever after” because of the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Yes, this is referring to Jesus. It is referring to His sacrifice for you and me. It is referring to His death on the cross…His burial…and His resurrection and all that we are celebrating this weekend. It is the center of our whole story…the One story…and it is the center of our “ever after”. Jesus is the center of it all!
Bottom line…it is only when we make Jesus the center of our story that our story begins to make sense. Only when we trust in Him, accept His invitation to come home, and run to our Father’s arms do we find peace and purpose for our lives. This is THE STORY!
This can be YOUR STORY…thanks to Jesus.