Awaiting the New Heavens and New Earth

2,700 years ago, the prophet, Isaiah wrote about a new heaven and a new earth, where the past will be forgotten, and where there will always be happiness and rejoicing.  Jerusalem will be a joy and its people a delight; there will be no weeping; people will live long and full lives, live in the houses they build and eat of the fruit they plant.  (cf Is 65: 17-21).  Taken literally, this prophecy is a major disappointment; none of it has come to pass as yet.  Strife and controversy surround Jerusalem; nowhere on this planet does the serene scenario fully exist.  Is Isaiah wrong?  Should we keep believing, keep hoping, keep working toward bringing his words to fulfillment?  Yes, of course.  He provides hope in the form of a promised return to "paradise".  It's the same hope we practice especially during Lent when we make special efforts to make this Utopia happen in our own lives, in our own world.  As we go through Lent, we realize more and more that even to keep our Lenten resolutions, it requires grace, help from above. We can't seem to accomplish what we've pledged without help.  It is by faith, hope and love in union with Jesus that we will contribute to the creation of the New Heavens and New Earth.  Let us then, as we proceed into this Fourth Week of Lent, review and renew our Lenten "program" and let Jesus work the creation of a "new" us as a lead up to a New World.
Bro. Rene