God with us - Week 30: Revelation 21:3
My current essay question is the theological equivalent of fractions for me! I've spent all week going back and forth, trying to find a way to approach the topic of natural evil.
Yep, it's as fun as it sounds!
It's involved reading about natural disasters, watching clips of parasitic wasps (only google if you have a strong stomach), and trying to get my head around an unpleasant topic that no one has ever got their head around. On Tuesday, I decided I'd have a break from trying to make sense of evil and rest in this week's "God with us" verse. I grabbed my list, looked up the verse for this week, and read:
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:3
Noooooooo!
Please not Revelation…not this week!
Would you please let it be something lovely from the Psalms or even something vaguely challenging from one of Paul's letters, just not Revelation?
That's my Bible equivalent of fractions!
But it is, and there's obviously something I need to discover from this Scripture; otherwise, it wouldn't have landed this week.
Revelation 21:3 comes from a section entitled "A New Heaven and a New Earth" and forms part of the visions recorded by John in this mind-boggling book. My week has been filled with stories of floods and tsunamis, examples of the cruelty of evolution, and the human search to make sense of it all, so the idea of a new heaven and earth is reassuring. I've read academic papers that question God's existence and waded through the arguments explaining how an all-loving and all-knowing God could create a world with such suffering. I've also shed tears as I've battled to understand the health struggles of someone I love.
Before I started this degree, I was warned it might cause a wobble in my faith as I navigated challenging topics. It hasn't necessarily done that, but as I watch the floods in Germany, Belgium, and China, I'm reminded that life here on earth can sometimes be challenging. There's so much to understand and explain and yet to say it's all beyond our comprehension is not enough for those who demand answers. I know God is with us, but I don't have a clear explanation for why life here on earth is so difficult at times.
The topic of natural evil blows my mind, and I find the book of Revelation, with its million different interpretations, confusing and challenging.
And yet…
I read these words from Revelation, and they provide exactly what I need just now.
I don't know why there's all this suffering and evil, whether it's man-made or through laws of nature.
I don't know why someone I love faces the exact health challenge they've spent years praying they'd avoid.
But I know this…
God is with us.
One day we will be with Him.
Can I explain why there's so much suffering and evil? No!
But I know this…
God will wipe away every tear.
There will be no more pain or death.
There will be no more mourning and crying.
The way things are now will no longer be.
God is with us now and will be with us always.
Kay Moorby
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