Next Year

The first week of Advent.  The week that we focus on hope.  My heart has been stirred by thoughts of our greatest hope, the hope of eternal glory with Christ our Lord.  For centuries the Jewish people have ended their Seder with the saying, "Next year in Jerusalem."  Although there are a few different interpretations to that phrase, for me it evokes a longing for home.

The Jewish people still await their Messiah.  And have been for millennia.  All through the Old Testament we have the promise of the coming Messiah.  As early as Genesis we have been promised a Savior.  Genesis 3:15  And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.  He will strike you head and you will strike His heel.   The promise of deliverance. A hero will rise up to destroy our enemy the devil. 

Can you imagine thousands of years of longing.  Generation after generation telling the story of the coming Messiah and the hope of restoration that He will bring.  And yet we too are waiting.  Not for the coming of our Messiah, for we know He has already come and claimed victory, but for His return and the restoration of His complete rule. 

Our hearts long with the hope of His return and long for the hope of our heavenly home.  Sometimes those yearnings get crowded out with the physical, concrete reality of this world we walk through, but if we quiet our hearts and turn our focus heavenward, we can sense them. 

John 14:1-3  Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  That is our promise.  That is our hope.  That is our future.  Glory!!

Revelation 21:1-4   Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.  8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”  9 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  10 So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. 12 The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13 There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.  15 The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. 17 Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).  18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.  21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.  22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Our new home is being prepared.  Our happily ever after with our loving, amazing God.  Can you feel the longing?  Perhaps, next year in NEW Jerusalem! 

Hallelujah!!  Our hope is sure!  For our hope is in You, the Promise keeper!  The one who was promised through the centuries came and will come again!  Hallelujah!  Amen!  Come, Lord Jesus! 

Find the hope in your heart today...and if you have trouble, look to the promises of Christ's return to fill your heart with hope.  Stand and believe!