The good, the bad, the ugly and the very good

What a terrible thing it is to be under the curse of God. Genesis 3 paints a picture of a transition from blessing to curse as mankind is punished for their rebellion against their loving Creator who had created a good world. ‘Cursed are you….I will increase your pains……cursed is the ground’. So bad is the situation and such is the power of this action that it will take a great blessing for it to be undone. Yet it was in God’s plan.

The great blessing begins in Genesis 12 where the word ‘bless’ occurs 5 times. Those promises to Abraham are hefty and lofty in their content yet God is faithful. The story of the Bible is of the one unfolding plan of God. All these promises find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. As 2 Cor 1:20 says, ‘For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ’. God’s plan was designed to show his glory through his one and only Son. Yet it was ugly, it was through the death of an innocent man on a cross – this is ugly no matter how nicely you try to put it.

Our small group has been studying Revelation over the last little while and on Tuesday night we finished it! There was a verse that rung in my ears, especially in light of what is written above – ‘No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him’ (Rev 22:3). No curse! The curse is finally over; the slavery to sin – OVER! The presence of sin – GONE! The power of sin – VANISHED! This is better than good, this is very good.

What a great and glorious kingdom that Christ has won for us!
What a magnificent God we have who has worked this out since the beginning of time!
What a wonderful new creation!
What a hope we have!
What joy we have in being assured of our place in heaven!
What an immense thing to have every spiritual blessing in Christ!

With such a breathtaking vision of the riches and splendour of the new creation, it is no wonder that the book finishes with a plea for Jesus to return: ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. I don’t often pray for Jesus to return but I have been encouraged to this week and into the future.