Week Three

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

-Revelation 22:1-5

Revelation 22 is the end of our sacred scriptures; the final chapter in the Bible. It reveals to us God’s ultimate intention for the world, for the church and for humankind; it paints the picture of God’s vision for healing and unity. This portrait of healing is where we are going: “all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well,” as Julian of Norwich put it. God has told us that through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, our story ends in healing. Our story ends in the eternal presence of God’s infinite love when the church will be one, and we will see God’s face fully. It ends in the redemption of our hearts, the healing of our divisions, and the renewal of the entire creation. Revelation is God’s promise to us that everything which is broken will be made new in Jesus Christ. We can trust the power and promise of Christ’s resurrection, the first fruits of what is to come. We can catch glimpses of that beautiful world, even now, in moments of forgiveness and reconciliation, in acts of compassion and care.

As you go into this week, let Revelation 22 draw you toward something wonderful and beautiful. Let the promise of healing and redemption give you the confidence to look for the glimpses of God’s goodness all around you. This week we pray that the GCF Global Gathering will provide a small glimpse of the unity and fellowship that is to come when we join all our voices in eternal praise.