Waiting for something new has always been hard for me. Whether it was a new car or a new stroller, I’m so impatient, I want it NOW! You may or may not be able to relate. But I’m sure we can all agree that there’s one new thing we absolutely cannot wait to happen! First Peter 3:13 tells us, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Have you ever just sat and closed your eyes to imagine what eternity will be like? I know I have, and what’s the most incredible thing is that no matter how fabulous it is in my imagination, it will be 100 times better than that! 

Why do we need to look forward to this new heaven and new earth? Well, frankly sin has messed up our world. If I thought that there was no eternity and all I had to look forward to was the rest of my earthly life, it wouldn’t really be worth living. Every time you turn on the TV or read a newspaper you’re hearing about natural disasters, war, murder–you name it, it’s happening. Can you imagine God weeping every time someone hurts someone else? Jesus even wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41 and following.

But what is He weeping for? He’s weeping because the people are no longer living in the covenant, they are not living the lives He created them for, they do not know Him. So, He came to be that new covenant, to reconcile us to Himself, so that we could live as “new creations,” so that we could have eternity with Him to look forward to. 

How do we respond to that? THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! We need to show that thanks daily. We need to love God, and we need to do that by serving others in His Name. We are each serving Him in our various calls. The church I served for seven years and am still a member of is Mt. Olive Lutheran in Rockford, IL. Our mission statement was to “Love people to Jesus.” So often we get confined within our church walls. I challenge you to reach out, to serve someone outside of your church to show them the love of Christ. If you do not really have any relationships outside of your church, start looking for them! Pray that God will bring someone into your life who you can love to Him.

Dear Lord, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Words can never express the thanks we feel when we try to grasp what you went through for us. What you went through so that we can experience eternity with you. Thank you for making all things new! Help me to live your love everyday and love people to you! In Jesus’ name, Amen!