A Jewel of a Planet

As a student in the early 1970s, I had a beautiful poster: a photograph that came back to earth with Apollo 8 in 1969. In it, our planet earth hung like a precious jewel in the sky, rising blue-green and white above the barren gray lunar surface. I often wonder what happened to that poster. I wonder about planet earth, too. It looks so incredible from space: a delicate sphere, cocooned in gentle air and cloud, glowing with warmth and life, a beacon in the heavens that is our home.

The reality is so different down under the clouds. Isaiah knew all about the horrors that Earth harbors, but in the face of all the awfulness, God gave him a vision of what will be: a renewed place in which joy and righteousness reign, the weak are delivered, the fearful find peace, and where there will be safety, delight and a way home. Isaiah’s vision rings deeply true in this age in which we have come to learn the harm we humans inflict on the planet. Earth itself blossoms and the deserts bloom as life-giving water revives the hot, dead places, and sandy wastes become a riot of color.

I find myself deeply touched by the prophet’s physical vision. We are so wholly part of this wonderful planet, planned in eternity and modeled by God’s hands. As we are saved, so will the planet be (See Rom. 8:19-22). What will a redeemed earth look like? What will it be like to live upon it? We often forget that this is the biblical vision: that Jesus will come to earth, to reign here with his people in a renewed creation, crowned by his presence. Jesus’ healings give assurance of his glorious promise. See how vs. 5 and 6 are quoted in Matthew 11:4,5.

Pray about our Earth, the pollution of air and water, the sharing of precious resources (such as water in dry areas), and other, important such matters.