At some time still to come, on a day that is yet only a promise, God will set aside the past and begin creation anew. The vision of a new heaven and a new earth promises a life that stands in sharp contrast to the here and now. In this new life, we will know joy instead of sorrow, a long life instead of death before its time, and fruitful labor in place of work that is in vain. God will not totally destroy the world, but will save it and create anew. In it, there is for the faithful both promise and encouragement of a new life.
This message is adapted from “A New Heaven and a New Earth” written by Foster and Jannine McCurley in the July/August 1991 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.