There Is A Promise Still Unfulfilled
About this time of the year eight years ago my mother asked me to cut off all of her hair. It was very awkward, but I understood why it had to be done and I promised that I would. Mom was showing the affect of sin and she did not want to have to face it or answer questions about it. So she chose to have it all taken off. You see, mom was fighting a battle with cancer—one of the many manifestations of sin in our fallen world—and the chemotherapy treatment she was undergoing was now causing her hair to fall out in clumps. It was a few years later that death—another manifestation of sin—would take her from this life.
I thank God for the fact that He fulfills His promises. Christmas is a constant reminder of that fact for the birth of Jesus was the beginning of God’s fulfillment to a promise He gave at the beginning of creation, after it was marred by sin (Genesis 3:15). Jesus came to have the righteousness of His perfect life and His sin-removing death transform the lives of all those who would accept His sacrificial gift. But there is one final installment to that promise that every celebration of Jesus’ birth should remind us is yet to be fulfilled—the Lord’s submiting everything to His rule.
In Revelation 21:3-5 the fulfillment is given in these words, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, 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,’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’”
I pray that in this Christmas Season when we remember loved ones from long ago and miss them, may we also remember that there is hope for today in the birth of Jesus. But may we also remember that there is even a great fulfillment when He returns. Come quickly Lord Jesus, and totally fulfill your promise. ‘Joy to the world the Lord is come: let earth receive her KING!’