Water has always enriched my life. Exploring the rocky shores of Acadia National Park. Swimming in the ice cold Swift River in New Hampshire’s Jigger Johnson Campground. Snorkeling in the Andaman Sea. Witnessing the power of Hawaii’s Bonzai Pipeline. Boating on Lake Michigan.
The other day I heard Revelation 21:1 read in a sermon. You’ll recognize it. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And there was no more sea.” We all love this text. A new heaven. A new earth. What a promise! What Hope!
But no more sea? Wait a minute. What’s wrong with sinking our toes in sand or listening to relaxing surf? I puzzled as I heard my beloved ocean banished for eternity. Then Ben Martin, the pastor at Pioneer Memorial Church in Michigan, reframed John’s words for me.
So go with me to the Isle of Patmos where John penned Revelation. The Aegean Sea separated him from family and friends. As he gazed across the vast, uncrossable water, he couldn’t help but dream of the day when no ocean would separate him from those that mattered to him. The day when no ocean would separate him from his God.
Perhaps you’re looking across that same ocean this Holiday season:
There was an empty chair at your Thanksgiving table.
Your kids aren’t going to make it home for Christmas.
A friend moved away.
The one you said “forever” to just said, “I’m done.”
A child is no longer speaking with you.
A “dear John” letter is searing a hole in your heart.
You’ve been to more funerals this year than your heart can handle.
A lifelong friend no longer speaks with you.
Loneliness seems to be your frequent and only companion.
More and more your heart aches for Home.
Or maybe, just maybe, you and God aren’t so close these days, either.
So this Christmas, and honestly every time the seas seem wide in your life, please remember these words: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.” (Ps. 34:18) “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4)
With every new gray hair that populates my head, I experience more oceans that seem uncrossable. But each ocean comes with the realization that my Savior — the Babe in a manger — can walk on water. He is the Master of the seas. He is the Bridge that came to span the seas in our life.
“And I saw the holy city coming down out of heaven from God. This holy city is the new Jerusalem. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne. The voice said, “Now God’s home is with men. he will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.” (Revelation 21:2-4)
Praise God, the old ways — the old seas – will be gone!