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Daily Reading: January 20th

#DailyDevotion Our Best Life is Later at the Resurrection

January 20th

Read Ezek 47:1–14, 21–23

Eze 47:1  Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar…12  And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” …21″So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel.  (22)  You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.  (23)  In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.

 

Revelation 22:1-3  Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  (2)  through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  (3)  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

 

The Bible is one. It has one Author and one Purpose. We can see that from today’s lesson from Ezekiel. That which was shown to Ezekiel was also shown to John. The river that flows from the throne of God is the water of life and it gives life to all that drink it, man, animal, plants and land. This is a description of what dwelling with God will be like at the resurrection to eternal life. Will it look exactly like this? Probably not. It will be better but human language can only convey so much.

 

Not only the Jews or the Israelites according to the flesh who had faith in Christ will inherit the earth at the resurrection. No, the mystery of Christ is that the Gentiles who put their faith in Jesus are included with Israel, Rom. 9-11 and Galatians. Indeed the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. What can these leaves be other than the Word of God, the Good News of Jesus Christ? And so God and his Christ will have one holy people as there is one holy God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

We really have something to look forward to at the resurrection. Our best life is not now. Our best life is the one to come with Jesus. And this life is a free gift won and bought for you by Jesus. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to work to keep it. You simply rejoice in it with the family of God in Church.

 

Heavenly Father, grant us such faith in your Son Jesus Christ, that on the day of his second advent we may enter the New Jerusalem and partake of the water of life, the fruit of the trees and may be healed by the leaves of the trees that are fed by the water of life, Jesus Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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