My desk and my office are a mess. Some of you may quip, “So what else is new?” But I have more than an excuse this time. I have a real reason. We have moved the shelves  away from the walls to the center so that the walls can be repainted. My books have been in boxes since the water leak. I would like to think that the disruption in my office is an example of when bad things happen to good people. Accidents happen. The goods news is that I’m told that the work will be finished tonight and that I can begin to restore order from chaos. I guess I’ll need to find a new excuse for the clutter.

Bringing order out of chaos is part of the teaching of Revelation 21:1-6. The chapter opens with these words: “And 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 (verse 1). “Sea” has longed symbolized chaos and evil in Scripture. People have feared the sea creatures of their imaginations. When John saw that a new heaven and new earth had replaced the one with seas, he rejoiced in God’s care and protection. God had destroyed everything that threatened God’s people. He had restored created order.

I’ve also realized that these verses do not primarily designate the place believers go to when they die. They describe what happens on earth: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God: (verse 2). God’s presence descends on his faithful to spread his tabernacle, that is, his presence over them. While Jesus is coming again to bring the world to its proper end, let us remember that God comes to us in our struggles and chaos. May we echo the prayer of John in Revelation 22:20: “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”