Sermon
1/7/07 –
The Seven Wonders –
Revelation 21:1
Audio Sermon
The Seven Wonders
“And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no
longer any sea” (Revelation 21:1)
When we were at the convalescent home on Thursday,
Grace, a lovely 92-year old Christian lady who is our dear friend, loaned us a book by George Boose, entitled, “Sermons
for Seniors,” which turned out to be a well-written, interesting book.
Chapter Two is called, “To Touch and to Taste, The
Wondrous Gifts of God,” about a 6th grade class that was given an
assignment called, “the Seven Wonders of the World.”
The children were told by the teacher to write down what
each of them thought were the “Seven Wonders,” and
the teacher would “add them up” as votes to see
which ones would be included. The top seven vote getters in the poll were: “The
Great Pyramids of Egypt… the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal, the
Empire State Building, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Great Wall of China”
– all places that had been previously studied in the class.
The teacher was pleased because she thought the list
reflected “good thought and a sound knowledge of the
physical world.” She noticed “that one little girl, sitting on the back
row, hadn’t turned in a ballot,” and asked, “Mary, are you
having trouble with your list?” Mary replied, “Yes,
I can’t decide; there are so many.” The teacher saw that the girl had
written something on the paper, and said, “Just tell me
what you have so far.” The girl hesitated, but then said, “I
think the Seven Wonders of the World, are to Touch and to Taste, to See and to
Hear, and to Run, to Laugh, and to love.” And as Mr. Boose reported, “the
teacher was nearly speechless.”
In our Scripture for today, we catch a glimpse of the
future, the true future, and it is quite unlike anything that most scientists or
science fiction writers are able to imagine. Places that many of us have visited
or would like to visit, like the “Great Pyramids of Egypt…
the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building,
St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Great Wall of China” – will be gone. No one
will be concerned about them. The atmosphere we breathe will no longer be with
us in its present form, and neither will the sun, the moon and the unimaginable
vastness of innumerable galaxies of stars – all the present creations of God and
man will be things of the past. As it says in our Scripture for today,
everything will be made “new.”
The vast oceans humanity has sailed upon for centuries
and many have looked upon and listened to with sighs, will be just a forgotten
memory of a time that is no more. And sadness will be gone as well, for what we
value now will be replaced by the Presence of the Lord, who indeed is wonderful
and will fill us with JOY. Those who want Him will be WITH Him, and “He
shall wipe away every tear from (our) eyes; and
there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or
crying, or pain;” for “the first things
(will pass) away” (Revelation 21:4).
In our world of today, we look for our security to
armies, police departments, social workers, governments, money, burglar alarms
and yes – religious ideas. When we admire something or someone, it’s often a
building, a mountain, a canyon, a book, someone who has riches, an athlete, a
clever saying or a movie star. In other words, our values are misdirected, for
we look to people, ideas and things, when we should be looking to God.
The little girl was right in her choices about the “Seven
Wonders of the World.” There are many who have no money, and yet they can
see. Others don’t have a career that is pleasing to them, but they can hear. Not
all can touch or taste or run, but it’s time to look up from what we do not
have, and look to the Lord, who gives us the wonder of – Himself. As little “Mary”
indicated in her “ballot,” we have been given the
God-given capabilities to “laugh and to love.”
I think that many among us, if we were God and were able
to create a world containing a race of beings to inhabit it, would not do it as
God did. The tendency would be to build a race of robots that would do our
bidding – they would do what we wanted when we wanted it and not complain about
having to do it. If you think about it, that’s exactly the way humanity makes
our sewing machines, computers, vacuum cleaners, washers, dryers, televisions
and so on – “robots” that do what we want when we want it. The Lord has a better
idea.
Unlike the robots we would create, God has given us
freedom to choose, and there are really only two choices in this world that will
last. We can choose to love and honor the God who created us, or we can reject
Him – forever. When the pyramids were built in Egypt, it became an opportunity
for the builders to enslave others. It was the same when America was settled
from Europe, and it has been like that since the beginning of time. People want
OTHERS to do their bidding. But God has set us free, which is one of the “wonders”
of this world.
You are free to love the Lord. When He physically came
to this earth, some chose to love Him, even on the terrible night of His death,
but others, many others have said “no” to the Lord through the centuries that
have passed since God our Creator invented humanity.
In giving us freedom, God has taken an immense risk, for
many in humanity have used that “freedom” as license; harming others for
personal gain. He has given wives to husbands who, all too often, have abused
the very gift that has been given to them. Children are an enormous gift to
those who are privileged to have them, and children are privileged to have
adults that love and protect them. But many have not fulfilled such roles with
love.
The “freedom” we have extends outside of our own lives
and into the lives of those around us, and often the answer to the question, “How
could God do this to me?” is: He didn’t do it. We did, because we or
someone else chose personal freedom over love for others.
Jesus was very clear when He said, “Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). “The
Great Pyramids of Egypt… the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal, the
Empire State Building, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Great Wall of China,”
are “Wonders,” but they aren’t wondrous enough.
Jesus told us that we should, “Lay up for
(ourselves) treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20).
And young Mary was right when she said the “Seven Wonders
of the World, are to Touch and to Taste, to See and to Hear, and to Run, to
Laugh, and to love.”
These are gifts sent to us from God, and what He gives,
may, in His wisdom, be temporarily lost for a time on this earth, but all will
be ours in eternity – forever. By looking merely to the things of this earth, we
can miss the wonder of God’s love, given to us freely in Christ Jesus.
Lord, we receive the wonder of Your love. Thank You
for the amazing gift of Your Son. We trust in Him now. In Jesus Name. Amen.
