Not the end, but the birthpangs of a new world

Morning: Psalm 86; Genesis 28:10-17; John 1:43-51

Evening: Psalm 104; Mark 13:1-13

Does Jesus predict the end of the world, with ‘salvation’ as an escape?  No, on the contrary, Jesus inaugurates a new creation.  Escape into eternal comfort is never what Jesus has in mind; his goal is a new earth. …. We know that the birth of a beautiful child does not come without pain … Giving birth to a new world may be even more messy and painful.  But new mothers don’t say it wasn’t worth it.  Imagine yourself, then, ‘pregnant’ with new life, nourishing the life growing within you, preparing to give birth.  Salvation is not escape but fulfilment.