For the creation was subjected to futility - not willingly but because of God who subjected it - in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. (Romans 8:20-21)
India is ground zero in the war between man and nature. Coconut palms wrestle with pollution while iridescent kingfishers choke on human rubbish. Hives of auto-rickshaws belch exhaust, and putrid rivers are smelled long before they are seen. Even still, the underlying beauty of the land and its people shows through the grime of human fingerprints.
India is turquoise beaches and jungle clad mountains. This is where radiant children and genius technicians live. But the struggle for life is more intense here. In North America and Europe, it’s easy to consider our ordered lives and accept the present earth as a permanent abode. In developing countries I can’t do that. Life too often loses in the struggle against death, so paradise will need a new home.
I long to see India after God remakes her at the coming of the new heaven and new earth. I envision her mountains in gleaming perfection. I smell the abundance of flowers and feel the spray of waterfalls. Indian Christians, brown and lovely in perfected spiritual bodies, will serve the Almighty Prince with no mark of sin or pain on them.
Next, I see these children of the Most High join with a sea of exotic, completed God lovers from every culture, embracing in the love light of Jesus.
India will be restored into a flawless virgin bride stunning in her splendor. All the nations will join her as perfected sisters ready to offer their glory as a wedding gift to the ever deserving Groom of Grooms.
Prayer: Mighty God, present us to Jesus, lands and humans alike, liberated and remade.