Can you believe it? We have made it to week 31 of The Story!
Some days are hard. Some days are so full of stress, anxiety, fear, and heartache that you long to get away.
And perhaps you have done just that. Maybe you went to an all-inclusive resort in paradise where you lounged on the beach all day. Or maybe your choice was a cozy ski resort in the mountains where you shooshed up and down the slopes and sipped on hot chocolate as the sun was setting. Like any good vacation, it was probably a time filled with delicious food, beautiful sky, and laughter.
Vacations are suspended spans of time where stress is left behind. No bills to pay. No deadlines to meet. Only an opportunity to commune with God, nature, and loved ones. But then the week ends. And as soon as you arrive back home, you can feel it again. The things that need to be done. The concern about projects. The relational tensions. Back to a world where it seems as if Satan might be winning. But for a moment, you had a tiny taste of what could be.
The Book of Revelation is an authentic taste of what will be. It is the promise that in the end, God wins. Life may be hard now. Life may be unfair now. There may be challenges now. But in the end, God will demonstrate he is the Victor.
And he will give us a life in Paradise. The Apostle John was given a vision of the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven. It is an immense place. Some get caught up in the dimensions outlined in Scripture. But I believe the purpose we are told of the size of heaven is to give us the assurance that there is room for everyone.
“All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). The end will be much like the beginning. The God who shaped Eden out of chaos will take the chaos of our world and shape it into something new. A New Heaven and a New Earth.
So call on his name and make your reservation. It’s all-inclusive.
Who are you inviting to church this week?
Blessings,
Pastor Hayley