A Devotion from Jon Bloom

At the close of every day, nothing is more fitting than for Christians to thank God, not only for the massive amounts of unquantifiable grace we have received from him but also because we are one day closer to the passing away of this partial age and all of its incumbent sorrow and weariness. “When the perfect comes.” Those inspired words stir up deep longings for a time we have never known and yet desperately want. Paul may have been talking about spiritual gifts when he used that phrase in 1 Corinthians 13:10, but we know because of Romans 8 that “the partial [that] will pass away” means so much more. Right now even the best things are not what they should be. And so much goes so very wrong. In this partial age, our bodies, our loved ones, our careers, our creations, our investments, and our plans are all subject to the forces of futility (Rom. 8:20). This age is marked more by suffering (8:18), longing (8:19), groaning (8:23), and hope (8:24) than by fulfillment. So at the day’s end, especially when the pain of “the partial” has caused us groaning, let us remember that this “partial” age, all that we’ve ever yet known, is passing away and the perfect is coming. To all you road-weary travelers who have found that the way that leads to life (Matt. 7:14) is harder than you ever imagined, the perfect day of rest is coming (Matt. 11:28). To all you who find yourself poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), humbled, desolate, and in desperate need of what only God can provide, the perfect day of the all-abundant kingdom is coming. To all you who are mourning the loss of a precious one (Matt. 5:4) and finding it hard to press on under the heavy cloak of sorrow, the perfect day of death’s death is coming (1 Cor. 15:26). To all of you who are growing tired in the relentless struggle to hold back the flood of unrighteousness, both from within and without, and who long deeply for a time when all is made right (Matt. 5:6), the perfect day of your satisfaction is coming. To all of you who have been injured by the maliciousness of another and have responded with a tearfilled mercy (Matt. 5:7), the perfect day of restoration is coming. To all of you whose soft heart (Matt. 5:8) is tormented over the sin-hardened, sin-infected world around you, the perfectly pure day is coming when you will see what your soul most longs for. To all of you peacemakers who are blessed of God (Matt. 5:9) and yet find this blessed work heartbreaking, misunderstood, and underappreciated, the perfect day of reconciliation is coming. To all of you who find yourselves in a disorienting darkness that feels unbearable and wonder if God has abandoned you (Ps. 88:14), the perfect day is coming when the Light, in whom there is no darkness (1 John 1:5), will shine upon you (Num. 6:25). And to all of you who increasingly love and long for Jesus’s appearing (2 Tim. 4:8), who have an inconsolable homesickness for a country far better than any that exists here (Heb. 11:16), your perfect home, a home prepared especially for you (John 14:2), is coming. When the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. The promised “soon” (Rev. 22:20) is getting sooner. Let us keep encouraging one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:18). Let us hold fast to the hope set before us (Heb. 6:18). And let us press on to know the Lord (Hos. 6:3). Weeping may last for the night of this partial age, but joy is coming with the morning (Ps. 30:5).