334 SE Tecumseh Road  P.O. Box 5  Tecumseh, Kansas 66542  (785) 379-5005  Fax - (785) 379-5061

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Trustworthy and true words Revelation 21:1-6  We seem to be insatiable. The appetite for things that are ugly and hurtful appears to be insatiable. We never get enough of listening to or watching people bash each other, whether with words or with weapons of one kind or another. Bash! Here are some ugly words about a group of beautiful, young female basketball players. Bash! A deranged and sick young man destroys many beautiful students and teachers on a university campus. Bash! Another ‘celebrity’ radio commentator concludes that since the young killer was so angry at wealthy folks, he must have been a liberal. Bash! We can keep on going with this, if we choose. We can choose to keep dividing ourselves into warring factions, hurling increasingly ugly and vicious insults at each other, becoming increasingly vehement in our narrow self-righteousness. It’s clear that Fred Phelps does not have a monopoly on ‘extreme’ ugliness. One question is – where is all of this spewing of hatred and divisiveness leading us?  Revelation is a vision, and this particular passage (21:1-6) is a favorite, often used at funeral services. That’s understandable, for these are words of great comfort and of hope. But take note of these words: 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. (21:3) Us earthly mortals, living in the here and now. We need God to be with us in this here and in this now, because without God we are prone to become more and more extreme in our various forms of bashing. And what does that get us? As I see it, it gets us nothing other than pain. Deep-seated pain, the kind that cannot be healed by any of the wonder drugs available in our market place.  And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then 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 waters from the spring of the water of life. (21:5-6)  I would venture to say that all of us long to hear words which are trustworthy and true. All of us seek comfort and have a need for hope, and all of us are thirsty. We are not going to be comforted by making others uncomfortable. We are not going to fulfill our hopes by dashing the hopes of others. We are not going to quench our thirst by depriving others of the water of life. The source of comfort, of hope, of the water of life is the Alpha and the Omega, the source of words trustworthy and true. Such words are not ugly, but instead are words of healing, effective in the battle against bashing. - Pastor Piet - May 6, 2007