After the fall of man, the earth became cursed. Creation came under assault and things went into disarray. The Lord declared the following: “Cursed is the ground on account of you; in hard labor you will eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it will bring forth for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Gen. 3:17b-18a). Great difficulty began to unfold because of man’s tragic choice.
Storms, natural disasters and the raging sea became symbols of this unsettling chaos. The world began to convulse and enter into duress. Paul pointed out that, because of man, “creation was subjected to futility” (Rom. 8:20).
Jesus finally came on the scene; walking on water,controlling storms and multiplying food. In doing this, He was showing us that the earth is changing. Through the extension of His transforming power, creation could not remain as it was. As Isaac Watts declared, in his beloved hymn “Joy To the World:”
“No more let sins and sorrows grow/Nor thorns infest the ground/He comes to make His blessings flow/Far as the curse is found/Far as the curse is found/Far as, far as the curse is found”
The Messiah continues to uproot the thorns and thistles. The entire cosmos is changing because of the entrance of His wondrous grace. While many are resistant to it, the “new earth” has already been inaugurated. Darkness and chaos are being pushed out. Everything is increasingly being made right.
I am truly grateful that Jesus is making all things new.
J.D. King is the international director of World Revival Network, speaker and author.
