Have you wondered what is going on with the Earth? Last week alone, there were 1,090 earthquakes 1.5 or greater. There are 40 to 50 active volcanoes, with 20 erupting on any given day. There are hurricanes and typhoons pummeling the Pacific and Atlantic, and if that isn’t enough, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current is slowing down. There’s no doubt about it; our Earth is groaning.
Why in the world would the Earth be groaning? Because long ago, in the mists of time, something terrible happened. The Earth was created perfect, and then sin entered the world, and the creation was changed in an instant. Originally, there was no death. Man and animals coexisted in peace. Man was a vegetarian, and the animals also ate grass and plants.
When sin and death entered the world, it all changed. Think about all the earth has endured. We’ll skip the pollution and ecological disasters we have witnessed, but if nothing else, think about all the wars that have happened on the earth. Think of all the blood that has been spilled on the earth over the millennia, all of the humans buried in the earth, all the animals that have died. Not a pretty picture. The earth has absorbed the results of the follies of man, and it is ready for a change.
I don’t completely understand how the Earth knows, but it knows that a change is coming. It knows it is going to be free from the bondage of sin that it has endured these millennia. It longs for a time when Christ will return and set things right on the Earth. Scripture says, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” Romans 8: 19-22
There will be a time on the Earth when all will be made well. Christ will return, and then rule and reign on the Earth, and all will be as He made it to be before man corrupted it. Scripture also gives us a beautiful picture of what it will be like. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together.; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11: 6-9
Some of you reading this may not believe any of this. But have you ever been to a funeral and watched them lower a casket into a grave? Instinctively, you know something is not right. You know it because we were never created to die. Death is an intruder and a destroyer, and there is no way that we can become comfortable with its effects.
A change is coming, and we must get ready for it. The Earth is groaning. It is letting us know that the time has almost come for it to be set free. Can you hear the groaning? I can. It’s telling us that it is time to get to know The Liberator, Jesus Christ, the one who will make all things new again.
When our oldest son was about three, we met some friends up at a lake. I was standing on one side of the boat ramp, and my husband and his friend were standing a few feet away on the other side of the ramp. Our son wanted to come over to where I was, and my husband said, “Sure.” He took off, and my hubby just assumed he was with me. He was busy chatting with his friend, and since I was in plain sight, he didn’t give it a second thought.
A few minutes later, my husband came over to where I was and he didn’t have Shawn with him. Shawn had walked right past me and was who knows where. Inside of me, I began to panic. There were lots of people at the lake that day, which only added to my consternation. My friends took off down the path, and I just stood there frozen. I could barely breathe. If something happened to my son, I knew I would not be able to live with myself. Second after second ticked by as I fought back hysteria. Thankfully, a few minutes later, our friends found him following the path along the lake, looking for me. To say I was relieved would be an understatement.
The Lord brought this incident back to my mind recently. When I think about the way I felt about my son being lost, it may, in some small way, reflect how the Lord feels when He looks down at His children and sees so many of them lost. I do not believe the Lord is panicked or hysterical, but the thought of losing them forever must be heart-wrenching. Millions are looking for Him, but because they are on the wrong path, they will never find Him. They will just continue walking until they walk right past Him into a Christless eternity.
Luke 19:10 says: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” That means that if you are lost, if you are looking for some sort of meaning in this life, some sort of God, some sort of something but don’t know what; He is looking for you…right now. He wants you to stop, turn around and look for Him, Jesus, the One who can save your soul and give your life meaning.
He cares for you more than you can ever know and He has no desire for you to spend eternity without Him. He will be crushed to lose you, a precious part of His beloved creation. No matter where you are, what you have done or where your search has taken you, it is not too late to find Him, the One your soul is ultimately looking for. His name is Jesus Christ and He will more than meet you half way. Turn around while you still can, while you’re still safe and while you still have hope.
This week is Holy Week for those who believe in Jesus Christ. It is the week when Jesus entered Jerusalem, held the Last Supper, was crucified and rose from the dead. There is not a more important week in Christianity.Today is Good Friday, the day Christians celebrate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
When Jesus came back from the dead, He had a spiritual body. You could look at it and touch it. He would appear in one place and soon after appear in another. Doors and walls were no obstacle to Him. He didn’t look exactly the same as He had in life, but there was one thing on His body that made Him recognizable: His scars.
When He rose from the dead, His body had the scars from His crucifixion. One of His disciples Thomas would not believe Jesus rose from the dead unless he could touch His scars. He wanted proof that Jesus had in fact risen from the grave.When Jesus appeared to the disciples, he allowed Thomas to touch His scars and see for himself that He was real. Thomas’s response was, “My Lord and my God.”
For all eternity, people in heaven will see the marks the crucifixion left on His body. His sacrifice will be paramount to His followers, for it will be the only reason they are there, having been reconciled to the Father.
