On this Lord’s Day morning, it seemed strange not to be getting ready for the meeting and I miss the opportunity to remember the Lord collectively. And yet as I sit here, and I can hear the birdsong, and the sun is shining, I appreciate the creatorial Hand of God, and remember that it was by His Son that ‘He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power’ (Hebrews 1 verses 2-3). That’s incredible. And nature seems to stand out more at present as some aspects of our lives are less busy. And we know that creation reminds us of God’s faithfulness and His mercy. His compassions are ‘new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3 verse 23) We recall the promises of God to Noah that the seasons will not fail (Genesis 8 verse 22) while there is an earth. We think of the ‘bow in the cloud’ (Genesis 9 verse 13) that was a sign of the Noahic covenant that the earth would never again be destroyed by flood. And so in these days when the order of things seems to be so awry, the Divine order continues and the signs of spring are here which can be a particular comfort to us.
And yet, there is something even more incredible for us. We have a greater privilege than Noah as we can see beyond the majesty of creation and in our mind’s eye ‘we see Jesus….crowned with glory and honour, that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man’ (Hebrews 2 verse 9). And we know that through His work, He has accomplished redemption of the whole creation; we know that what surrounds us is fallen creation, that it actually ‘groaneth and travaileth’ (Romans 8 verse 22) and in a future day, conditions will be more amazing than before the Fall during the millennium and later the Eternal state.
So what are the practical implications for us, what do we do while waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God ? (Romans 8 verse 19). In Hebrews 10, verse 22 – 25 we are encouraged to ‘draw near’, ‘hold fast’, ‘consider one another’, ‘exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching’
Paul