Year after year the sphagnum moss encroaches on the once pristine lake. Where once clear water ran, now only clouded brown water remains. Where fish once jumped and swam, now only lifelessness remains. Time marches on for the bog. Each year leaves less of the lake and more of the bog. Each year sees a smaller circle of water remain. Though it is slow, the bog moss and the peat claim the lake.
Sin is like that carpet of moss that slowly but consistently creeps over the surface of the lake or pond. It does not take a genius to look across our world and see the sin that creeps over our society with blazing speed. In our America sex is splattered over billboards and television. Lying is a virtue extolled. Millions of babies are murdered each year. Truth is relative and fleeting. In a thought, the world is turned upside down. Romans 1:18-32 is quickly becoming a reality for us. Our societies are quickly sinking into the murk of sin and lawlessness.
Unlike the bog, there is a bright hope in our future. For those of us who claim the name of Jesus Christ as Savior our hope lies at the edge of this present life. For us this life is just a passage to the great glory that lies beyond the shades of death. For us the future is brighter than anything we can imagine. This life’s sufferings and temptations are nothing compared to what lies ahead.
“. . . looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Titus 2:13The day is coming when death will be swallowed up in victory. The day is coming when sin will no longer have hold on us. The day is coming when our hope of glory will be reality. The day is coming when we will see our Savior face-to-face. The day is coming when we will stand before our Great God and praise Him for His marvelous salvation, unworthy though we are. The day is coming when all things will be new. I, for one, am greatly looking forward to the day when I am present with my Lord. What a great day that will be! What a great day it will be to see the Lord of lords and King of kings make new the world that has been corrupted by sin. What a great day it will be to feel His embrace!
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’” Revelation 21:1-4
