December 12th Advent Devotional

December 12

Revelation 21:1-5

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them and be their God;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away.”

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” 

-Revelation 21:3-5a

Times of sadness. Times of desperation. People mourning. When the youth group went to Mountain City last summer, we saw a variety of destruction from Hurricane Helene. We had the opportunity to impact the community by making new things, clearing rocks, and replacing roofs. I hope that our involvement helped the community through those times and towards a better future.

In Revelation, we are told that God “will wipe every tear from their eyes.” I notice that this shows God taking action, reaching out to people and not just comforting from a distance. We are also told that old sadnesses pass away when God is “making all things new.”

In Advent, we find hope. Hope that Jesus will come and lead the way by example. Jesus demonstrates God’s love and shows us how we can take part in loving one another, helping people in need because of sickness, death, hunger, and isolation. Jesus’ actions of healing and feeding brought comfort to those individuals and relieved them of their feelings of despair.

This is a time for hope in a new way of taking action to show God’s love.

Matthew Dye