For the Former Things Are Passed Away

Revelation 21:4: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

“For the former things are passed away.” From the beginning of time, our Creator God has been calling us beyond; beyond where we’ve been, beyond what we’ve done, and even beyond where we are today. At what point does He stop calling us closer to Himself? At what point does He stop leading us further away from that which pales in comparison to His presence? Answer: Never!

From the first cry in the garden, “Adam, where art thou?” to the cry on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” to His cry in Rev. 22:17, where it is written, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” God is ever showing us His passionate desire to be reunited in fellowship with His fallen creation.

He was so heartbroken over the trouble we got ourselves in that He took it upon Himself to become the ultimate sacrifice for sins so that once and for all, sin would never separate us from His presence again! What can separate us from His love? According to the scriptures, nothing shall be able to do so! You can trace His love for us from before the foundations of the world to the beginning of a new era in our text, where time shall be no more.

In that great day, we are told that “…God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” In other words, God will ever be calling us into the perfection of His presence until that day comes where all that we have known on this side of Heaven, as it relates to pain, sickness, death, and suffering, shall be forever in the past, never to sorrow our hearts any more.

Dear reader, can you see that special place Jesus was talking about in the gospels when He said, “I go to prepare a place for you.”? Only know this; there is but one way through which we can get there. Jesus said it like this in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” You are invited; please come!

~ Pastor Gary Caudill
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