Hennie Symington

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away ... Behold I am making all things new. Revelation 21:1,5

What does one do when visitors come to stay over at your home for a couple of days? Surely, you would prepare the spare room for them, covering the beds with clean sheets and pillowcases, dusting the furniture, and vacuuming the carpet or floor. Everything must be spick and span. How would the guests act when they see the bedroom looking so beautiful and inviting? Surely they would want to keep it that way.

Imagine the surprise of the homeowner and host, when he finds the room in shambles after the guests have left. The bathroom was left unwashed, the towels were dumped on the floor and the bedcovers were stained. Surely the hostess would have said to herself: “Never again will I take in guests like these.”

Did you know that God had also prepared a guest room (figuratively speaking) in the shape of a beautiful garden for the visitors to his paradise? They found it beautiful to look at and wonderful to dwell in. However, they spoiled it all by disobeying the owner and creator of the garden.

Yet, God gave them a second chance on condition that they tend the garden and look after it. Then God said, “I will make them a new room provided that they keep it in order.” That goes for us too. Clean up your life, your room, you heart and make a new beginning. Make peace with the ones with whom you are at odds, and try to be less judgemental and jealous. Stop hankering after possessions, and be loving and kind.

Prayer: Lord, we confess that we have turned paradise into a place filled with pain, loss, and destruction. Forgive us, oh Lord. We dream of that day when You will be all in all, and in everybody, so that we can finally rest in the perfect garden that you have bequeathed to us. Amen