God Dwelling With Us

  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.

God will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them and be their God;"

From Rev. 21:1-6

Sometimes I just feel like starting over.

That’s especially true when Reflections On My Elder Road doesn’t seem to come together with a hopeful, helpful message.

What makes it more confusing is that we seem to be living in apocalyptic times, when everything feels out of sorts and spinning out of control.

That’s when I get another cup of coffee, prayerfully meditate on nature outside my study window, and begin again.

The starting over part begins when I apply 3 principles.

First, I research, as much as possible, the original language of the text.

There I find out that John, the writer uses the Greek verb aperchomai meaning depart, so heaven and earth have departed.

In the meantime, a new earth and heaven will come down from God.

God comes to us.

Second, The Greek preposition, meta, meaning with, is lost in translation.

God is with us, dwells with us, will be with us.

Third, the words “home” and “dwell” are literally translated as tent.

See, the tent of God is among mortals, God will tent with them as their God…

For me, a powerful section of these verses is the image of God wiping away tears.

In our apocalyptic times when life seems to spin out of control, God’s tent is set up among us.

God has come to dwell among God’s people, even in our moments of pain and suffering.

What an image of hope!

God bringing a new earth and heaven, God’s tent among us, God comforting us.

What a vision of redemption!