Monday, December 3, 2012

All is Well?

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

I went to a concert at a local church this evening, celebrating their hanging of the green for Christmas. It was lovely, and the music selection was great. But one of the songs' lyrics got me thinking: the song said not to fear and that all is well now that the Christ has been born. The way it was worded, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Really? All is well?"

I look around at this broken world, and I do not see that all is well. There is famine, slaughter, drought, corruption, theft, abject poverty, disease, and so on. Yes, there are many beautiful and wonderful things in the world, too, but clearly all is not well.

The lyrics at the top of this post are from one of my favorite hymns, "It is Well With My Soul." All is not well with the world, but it is well with my soul. Because of a call and my answer many years ago, the God who created the cosmos reigns as King in my heart. That's why it is well with my soul. The kingdom Jesus kept going on about in his parables? The King over it is working to make it a reality in and through me.

The world is not ruled by its true King yet - He allowed Satan a time of power, and that is where we are now. Jesus' birth is good news because his life, death, and resurrection means we have a chance to become citizens of the kingdom of heaven and help bring it to the world. Eventually, at a time only God the Father knows, the Lord will return in power and bring the kingdom with him.

All is well? No. All is not well. But it will be.


Revelation 19:15-20:3a, 21:1-7
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

...Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. ...

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. ...

Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Behind the Curtain: The Other Story

My previous post was an exercise in acknowledging all of the space I'm in. The fact that I have some consistent themes to my internal (a...