A perfect world for perfect people

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Heaven”

Our Bible verse for today: “…the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.” Romans 8:21-22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “A perfect world for perfect people.”

We already know that we humans are under the curse of sin, and it shows. It shows in our bodies (which age, get sick, and die); it shows in the things we do to ourselves and to others; and it shows in the way we treat the earth. For thousands of years this planet has been ravaged by man’s sinfulness in terms of the pollution we create, and the wasteful the way in which we use precious resources such as water, timber, soil, and more. We also see the way the creation suffers by the way humans treat animals. Two hundred years ago the buffalo and beaver populations were almost wiped out in this country. This mistreating of animals by humans is also seen in things like dog-fighting contests.

In Romans 8:21-22 Paul writes that the entire creation has been groaning under the weight of sin and the destructive impact it has had. Just as our physical bodies ache and groan because of the effects of sin, so does the earth. And just as we are looking forward to a new, resurrection body, the day is coming when the earth will be resurrected into something new and better. Pastor John Piper wrote:

“God promises that the glory of his people will demand a glorious creation to live in. So the fallen creation will obtain the very freedom from futility and evil and pain that the church is given. So when God makes all things new, he makes us new spiritually and morally, he makes us new physically, and then he makes the whole creation new so that our environment fits our perfected spirits and bodies.”

That last statement is insightful and we need to spend a moment with it: “… he makes the whole creation new so that our environment fits our perfected spirits and bodies.” In other words, Piper believes (and I agree) that the environment of the new earth will be the place where we will spend eternity. Our new perfected bodies will be in the new perfected earth.

But what then of the new heaven and the new Jerusalem? And what about God, where is He? Those are good questions and we will attempt to answer them tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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