Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
In the business world we use the phrase “putting out fires” to describe the constant work of solving problems that arise. It is tiring it is to deal with so many problems one after another, and never find a complete solution to address the problems once and for all. When we think about the problem of evil, we can look at the world and become overwhelmed with the sheer number of things to be addressed with no end in sight. It can feel overwhelming and even depressing when we look at the world this way but, in this passage, we have a glimpse of the way God will deal with evil for good.
There will be a day when evil will be a thing of the past that will be more beautiful and wonderful than anything we could hope for. God’s dwelling place will be with man, we will be united with God, and the separation caused by evil and sin will be no longer. We will reflect His image completely and abide in Him fully and He will abide with us. In Jesus, God has given a permanent solution. He has a perfect plan of complete redemption, that includes a new and beautiful life with Him.
- Does the problem of evil overwhelm you? Why or why not?
- How does knowing God’s permanent solution to the problem of evil change how you face evil in the world?
- Pray and praise God for the complete way He has dealt with evil and the path forward He has provided in Him.
